Dead Rose
by malicent
Summary: Whitefire was once a pretty, well liked she-cat of Deadclan. But when she fell for the tricks of the ghost cat Denver, everything changed. Join Whitefire in her journey to banish Denver forever, and to regain her soul. But the costs are high, and it's clear that Denver won't back down until she pays the ultimate price with her life.
1. Enter Deadclan

Dead Rose

Chapter 1: Enter Deadclan

The concept of the clans is a structured, dignified system. A camp where cats alike live and grow. A territory, that everyone tries their hardest to protect. Cats in a clan hunt together, and create bonds. Well, that's how they perceived me to think. Ask my friend Runningfur from Frostclan, his clans got it going on. Frostclan is our rival clan beside us, by the mountains. It's no secret that they're the strongest. Plantclans constantly trying to take their spot up at the top, but they have never quite stripped them of their strong role. I never really liked Plantclan. Their territory is more or less a jungle, and the cats living in it always smell of weeds and leaves. And then on the other side of the forest, we've got the brave yet timid Rainclan. I think the clans name originated from the fact that when it rains, it pours the hardest on the poor, water logged cats in Rainclan. Rainclan is full of small warriors, for some reason none ever grew very big. However, despite their small size, they always seem to constantly be an issue with Plantclan. I personally think Plantclan just enjoys terrorizing them because they can't get away with it with Frostclan. Yes, Rainclan has set itself on the third notch down on the food chain. And who's the lowest on this ranking scale you ask? Oh right, I forgot to tell you what clan I'm in. Sadly, im not in Frostclan. (I wish I was.) I'm not in Plantclan. (Even that would be a step up from what it is.) And I'm not in Rainclan, which is more ideal then what I'm in even though it's more or less a livable creek in their camp. No, I'm not in any of these clans. My name is Deadrose, and I am a proud (not really) warrior of Deadclan. And to answer the question you're probably thinking, yes, I am a tom cat with the word rose in his name. Wouldn't have been my first choice of a name, but my leader has a tendency to pour salt on the wound. Having the word "Dead" at the beginning was awful enough, but when Redstar added "rose" at the end, it took it to a whole new level. Who wants to love a cat with a name like that? I wouldn't, and that's saying something because I'm the one who has the wretched name. And to make matters worse, my pelt just adds insult to injury. I have super short, spiky black fur that never lays flat no matter what I do. Around my front two legs, I have orange stripes weaving their way around up to my chest. They're also jagged. Like thorns. Like my name. Can you see why I'm so annoyed? Anyways, back on topic: Deadclan. Why, you ask, does my clan have such a horrible name? Well, let me tell you something about the way things work around here. Well, first things first, our camp is located over a graveyard. Yes, you heard me right. Before the clans ever got so defined, Deadclan was the specific location to bury dead clanmates, no matter what clan they were in. I know it sounds sadistic and completely weird, but that's just the way it is. Our warriors den is literally a mound. We have to make our nests directly over the bodies of deceased cats.

Sounds fun, doesn't it?

It didn't always used to be like this. Deadclan used to reside behind Rainclan, far away. Everything was great, and Deadclan was called Stormclan. And then some genius came along at one of the gatherings and made a point to mention Stormclan was too far off from the others. The leaders took it to heart and came to the conclusion that if Stormclan didn't relocate, they'd be banished from the forest. So we did what any other cat in it's right mind would do. We relocated. Unfortunately for us, the only spot available to move into was the graveyard. After a few moons of getting used to this, the other clans took it upon themselves to rename us Deadclan, and Redstar found no reason to defend it. _Well, we are in a graveyard, _he had said. Yeah, well no shit. If we were over a massive dirt place where everyone did their business, would we call our clan Crapclan? Didn't think so.

Yes, the concept of the clans is a structured, dignified system. A camp where cats alike live and grow. Like everywhere you go, there is always an outcast, someone lower than the rest of you. No one quite knows how it feels until you're the one stuck in the position. In my case, the whole of Deadclan towers under the other clans.

And I'd give anything, to be Stormclan again.

...

The forest seemed to glitter today. Raindrops on the leaves shined, and the grass was damp with dew. The sun wasn't shadowed by clouds, and Deadrose relished the feeling of the warmth on his face. He blinked open his eyes slowly, looking out across the border onto Frostclans territory. He was standing on the border, but not a paw across. He knew he should probably leave before a patrol showed up, but he wanted to look across the border for a few more moments.

"Deadrose, _why _do we always come over here?" Littlepaw his apprentice whined. "I'm bored."

"I just like to come over here sometimes," Deadrose replied to the little she cat. "I like to imagine what could have been."

Littlepaw looked over the border into Frostclan and scowled. "Why do you like them so much?" she asked. "They are our enemies."

"I don't particularly like _them, _Littlepaw," Deadrose explained. "I just like what they have to live in."

"Well, I _like_ Deadclan," Littlepaw defended her home hotly. "I bet Frostclan cats sit on the border too and look on our territory with jealousy."

Deadrose looked back at the Deadclan forest and tried not to sigh. Withered old shoots of plants lay lifelessly on the ground, wilted old trees creaked and groaned under the slight wind. Mud ruined any flowers the ground might have once held, and the whole scene was gray, brown and ugly.

"See?" Littlepaw prodded her mentor with a paw. "Deadclan is beautiful."

"I think the only beautiful thing here is your optimism," Deadrose smiled slightly. "Now let's go back to the camp and get some dinner."

"Okay!" Littlepaw jumped at the mention of food, and she eagerly followed Deadrose back through the forest and into the camp. When Deadrose pushed his head in the camp entrance, he could already see the evenings hunting party placing their catches on the fresh kill pile.

"I see Lostpaw over there," Littlepaw whispered urgently into Deadroses ear. "Holding a thrush."

"Why don't you go ask if you can share it with him?" Deadrose whispered back. "I don't think he'll be able to eat the whole thing."

"What if he wants to share with Dovepaw?" Littlepaw mumbled back, getting more stressed by the second.

"I doubt he cares who he shares his food with," Deadrose said. "But you better get over there fast. I see Dovepaw making her way over."

Littlepaw pelted away, and Deadrose smiled as she made it to Lostpaw before Dovepaw did. He knew his apprentice was quite fond of the scatterbrained Lostpaw, she made it quite obvious.

"Deadrose, we saved you some!"

Deadrose turned around to see his friends huddled in a group, waving their tails to catch his attention. Deadrose gave a returning nod and padded over to them.

"We managed to save you this from the pile," Tigerlily gently nudged over a small blackbird. "It's not much, but you know how it is."

"This clans like a herd of savages when it comes to eating," Lion chuckled. "It's every cat for themself at the fresh kill pile."

"Well, thanks for saving me some," Deadrose said as he settled in next to Tigerlily. "I would have got some myself but I was out with Littlepaw."

"Littlepaws quite the optimist," Lion replied. "I don't think I've ever seen her upset. You got a good choice of an apprentice, Deadrose."

"Yeah, well, she does her best all right," Deadrose flushed with pride as his friend praised his apprentice. "I just hope when the time comes, Redstar will give her a good name."

"Redstars really hit and miss when it comes to names," Flowertail mumbled angrily beside Lion. "I hope for Littlepaws sake he doesn't name her Littleeye or Littlenose or something dumb like that."

Deadrose looked sympathetically at his friend Flowertail, even thought the rest of his friends groaned in annoyance. They were all sick of hearing about Flowertails dislike for his name, but Deadrose could see why. Flowertail was a boy tom cat.

"Redstar won't name her any of those things," Lion scoffed, jumping in before Flowertail could go off on a rant about his feminine name.

"I can probably talk to Redstar about her name change when the time comes," Tigerlily offered, giving a wink at Deadrose. "After all, I am the deputy."

"I feel so honored to be eating with you," Deadrose shot back sarcastically. Tigerlily just laughed.

"On the topic of being the deputy, o' great Tigerlily," Lion said in an exaggerated voice. "Have you organized tomorrow mornings patrol already?"

"I forgot," Tigerlily admitted, shooting a glare at Flowertail as he snorted in amusement. "I'll just do it in the morning. I'll get up early."

Deadrose chewed his blackbird without speaking, thinking to himself. Lion always had to help remind Tigerlily about her deputy duties, because she was so scatterbrained. _Tigerlilys a great cat and I love her dearly as one of my best friends, but Lion should have been made deputy after Icefur passed away, _he thought. _And if Redstar wasn't so infatuated by Tigerlilys beauty, Lion would have been picked for the role. _

"Also Tigerlily, if you get the chance, can you have a word with Redstar about my name?" Lion asked mildly. Deadrose smiled slightly. Lion only had half his name because Redstar couldn't decide on the second half of it.

"I don't know why you're complaining," Flowertail grumbled. "You're name sounds cool with just half of it."

"We can do that with you too if you want," Lion shot back. "Flower."

"NO!" Flowertail cried out twice as loud as necessary.

"I don't know why you three are always so upset about your names," Tigerlily sighed.

"Well, that's because you got a good one," Flowertail muttered. "Because you're pretty and Redstar wants to be mates with you."

"He does not," Tigerlily snapped, lowering her head in embarrassment.

"Whatever," Flowertail rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Be naive if you wish."

"I'm not naive," Tigerlily whispered. No one replied, and Flowertail walked away.

...

"It's always so cold in here," Deadrose hissed as he snuggled next to Lion and Tigerlily. "We might as well not even have walls. It's not like it would make a difference."

"Stop complaining," Lion sighed. "It's not going to help."

Deadrose just sighed, and buried his cold nose under his tail, curling himself into a tight ball for warmth. The warriors den was always ice cold, and there was no logical explanation for it. All the warriors had to pile together in a big heap just to create enough warmth to fall asleep. When they first started doing it, it was extremely awkward. Now it was just routine. Deadrose felt Tigerlilys soft pelt rising and falling as she breathed, shivering slightly from the cold. Deadrose shuffled closer to her to help keep her warm. His eyes were just beginning to close when Flowertail started to rustle.

"I have to go to the dirt place," he announced feebly, stepping over the annoyed cats. "I'll be back in a moment. No one take my spot in the middle."

"Screw that," Lion muttered, heaving himself into the warm spot in the middle of the cats the second Flowertail left. "He can have sleep on the edge where it's the coldest."

Deadrose pretended not to hear, and closed his eyes. The ground underneath him was always the coldest, even though there was no snow or frost. Deadrose personally thought it was cold from the spirits under them, the bodies they were sleeping over.

_Spirits aren't just in the stars, _they seemed to whisper. _We're everywhere. Everywhere._

Deadrose felt Tigerlily shake from the cold, but there was nothing he could do because he was already pressed as close as he could next to her.

_Bodies are cold, _the ghosts whispered. _Just like the ground we're buried under. _But as the whispers left Deadroses thoughts, he thought he felt something lay over them, a spirit stretching over them as if it were trying to keep them warm. Deadroses breath started to come out like icy winds, and he longed for the mornings sun.


	2. Enter Plantclan

Dead Rose

Chapter 2: Enter Plantclan

"Deadclans been at it again," Hareclaw spat angrily to his patrol. "Stupid ghost cats think they can do whatever they want around here."

The rest of the patrol stared awkwardly at him, not quite sure what he was complaining about. Finally, after several long moments, Jaypaw spoke. "Uh, what have they done, Hareclaw?"

"Are you blind?" Hareclaw snapped, gesturing with his tail to the border. "They've been sitting on our border again! For no good reason!"

"There's no law saying they can't do that," a she cat named Sunflower said mildly.

"You have to admit, it is kind of odd," Leopardfur argued. "They tend to do that a lot, and I don't know why."

"How do you know they've been sitting on the border at all?" Jaypaw asked in confusion. "Yes, we can smell their scent, but isn't that just because they put up their scent markers like they're supposed to?"

"That's a good question, Jaypaw," Sunflower said encouragingly to her apprentice.

"No it wasn't," Hareclaw mumbled just loud enough for everyone to hear. Sunflower sighed and ignored him. "Jaypaw, we can tell their scent isn't just from the markers because the scent of individual cats linger quite strongly."

"Deadrose, I think," Leopardfur said after sniffing the border. "Like always."

"Why does he sit there?" Jaypaw asked.

"I don't know," Sunflower admitted before Hareclaw could jump in with a arrogant retort.

"I know for a fact he does the same thing with Frostclan," Leopardfur commented. "I heard some cats talking about it at a gathering."

"Well, I'm sick of it," Hareclaw snapped. "Next time I see him I'm gonna tell him to sit in his own territory."

"We should get out of here before they accuse us of doing the same thing," Sunflower suggested. "We should be heading back to camp soon anyway, it's getting late."

"You don't make the decisions around here," Hareclaw muttered.

"Neither do you," Leopardfur hissed, defending his friend. "In case you've forgotten, Jaggedstar is the leader and Scarface is our deputy. If you have a problem with the leadership around here, I suggest you take it up with one of them."

Hareclaw spat and stalked away, tail lashing in anger. Sunflower rolled her eyes and gently nudged Jaypaw. "Come on," she said quietly. "Let's go."

Jaypaw blinked his eyes a few more times and followed Sunflowers guiding tail through the trees. Sunflower felt an unexpected pang of sympathy for her young apprentice. Jaypaw was a small, white and gray tom cat with one green eye and one yellow. His yellow eye was completely blind, due to an incident when he was a kit. Jaypaw had found a patch of poison ivy in the camp, and had rolled in it. He scratched his eye on the leaves, and damaged the pupil. An infection formed, and grew until it took away his eyesight in the eye.

Sunflower knew Jaypaw was capable of making his way back to the camp on his own, but she knew he secretly liked the extra help from her. He walked a bit faster to walk beside her, and let her keep her tail on his back for guidance.

"Have you talked to Scarface lately?" Jaypaw asked hesitantly. "I haven't seen him around much."

"I saw him yesterday," Sunflower replied. "He was busy helping Featherwing mix healing herbs."

"Whitepaw is still sick then, huh," Jaypaw said sadly. Sunflower nodded grimly, sharing his sadness. Whitepaw was Featherwings medicine cat apprentice, who was constantly sick with a virus.

"Whitepaw is doing fine," Sunflower said, trying to be reassuring. "Featherwing just gave her the day off so she could get some sun instead of cooping up in the den all day."

"Oh," Jaypaw mumbled. "So... Scarface is doing good?"

"Yes," Sunflower whispered. She understood Jaypaws constant questioning about the deputy. Scarface is Jaypaws father.

"I think I'm going to ask him to come play a game with me after dinner," Jaypaw said with a false sense of confidence. "The worst he can do is say no, right?" he finished his sentence with a hollow laugh that nearly made Sunflower cry. "Good idea, Jaypaw," she said, forcing her voice not to crack. "And if he's busy, come find me and we can play a game together."

"Okay," Jaypaw turned to smile at her, his cloudy eye dim compared to his shining green eye. "Maybe after we can go and listen to a story in the elders den too," Sunflower said, returning his smile. "Mouseheart and Talonclaw always have something interesting to say."

"Last time they told me a rubbish tale about flying cats," Jaypaw said. "It was the most amusing part of my whole day."

Sunflower just nodded fondly, pushing her way into the camp entrance. The entrance was getting overgrown again, she nearly had to fight her way through the endless stems and bushes. She made a point to wait a minute after she got through to make sure Jaypaw didn't need help. He didn't, and ran through the camp in search of his father. Sunflower looked around, trying to figure out what to do now. _It's not quite time for dinner, _she thought to herself. _Maybe I'll go find Sharpclaw and see if he wants to go for a walk. _Sunflower looked around, but she didn't have to look far. Sharpclaw had already spotted her and was making his way over.

"Hi," Sunflower greeted him shyly. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing unusual," Sharpclaw replied, a sarcastic edge tainting his voice. "I just listening to a rant about Deadclan sitting around our borders again."

"Let me guess, it was Hareclaw leading the rant?" Sunflower replied, rolling her eyes slightly. "I already listened to a version of that when I was on a patrol with him."

"He always blows it way out of proportion," Sharpclaw shook his head in disgust. "I mean, if Deadclan cats want to sit around the border, that's fine. As long as they don't stray across it."

"No kidding," Sunflower mumbled. "Anyways, do you want to go for a walk through the forest? I'm not quite hungry yet."

"I would, but I already promised Scarface I'd go out with him and his apprentice," Sharpclaw said apologetically. "Another time we can go."

"Oh, alright," Sunflower was crestfallen but she dared not let it show. Then she thought of something. "Hey, bring Jaypaw with you and Scarface," she said. "He was looking forward to spending time with his father."

"I will bring that up with Scarface," Sharpclaw smiled warmly before turning away. "See you later, Sunflower."

"Bye," Sunflower called after him.


	3. Enter Frostclan

Dead Rose

Chapter 3: Enter Frostclan

Hello everyone and welcome to Frostclan, the greatest, the strongest clan this forest has ever seen. There's just no competition, Rainclan would be slaughtered if we went into battle with them, and Deadclan probably wouldn't even try. Plantclan might hold up a bit of a fight for a little while, but hell. As if it would do any good. Yes, we have the best of the best, even our apprentices are strong like warriors. Our apprentices even look like warriors, especially next to the pitiful runts in Rainclan. Well, this is what we're told to say. But as all good things go, there is a catch. A minor flaw that stands in the way. Because nothing is perfect, correct?

My name is Violet, and I was just made a warrior around three moons ago. And yes, I will get into a boring ol speech about myself for no other reason than the fact that it is necessary. Like the Frostclan cats typically go, I stand normal with the rest. I match the other she-cats sizes, maybe with not as much muscle but defiantly not small. Food seems to just burn through me, leaving my skinny legs and body the same size it will ever be. And forever stay that way. Anyways, in Frostclan, there is rules. Rules that are obscenely difficult to follow. Rule number one, always hold your head high even if you don't want to. Yeah well that's kind of difficult when your sinuses hurt so badly it almost hurts to breathe. Rule number two, never talk about weakness. (Would probably be easier to do if our clan wasn't riddled with them. (Oops, I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?) And last but not least, the blessed rule number three: Don't. get. sick. I don't know who came up with this genius list of rules, but let me tell you this. No matter what crappy rules some idiot made up, nature and life doesn't work that way. Sickness happens whether we like it or not. Frostclans got a big problem with sickness, like, it's like an omen of death or something along those lines. It clearly is an omen, but it's a warning, not a threat. It's clearly a sign we are doing things very wrong here. No one understands though. Everyone's always wrapped up in their own little world of glory. My leader is too full of himself and his power to listen to me. Even our deputy, (who may I add was my best friend before I got the sickness) has been brainwashed into thinking the same way.

Now you know a little of our history in Frostclan. Sounds great, doesn't it? Strong cats, battles we never lose... we are the most powerful of the forest. But let me tell you something else, remember rule three I talked about? About never getting sick? Well, guess what happens to the cats that do get sick. No, we don't go to the medicine cats den, because we don't even have a freaking medicine cat. Yeah, you heard me right. At one point we had a cat interested in the position, but got cold feet after coming to the conclusion that being around cats with the sickness all day would give him the sickness too. Makes sense in a weird way I guess, but anyway - back to the point. Cats whom are sick get to be confined in a den all day. A cat will usually take us on a walk to get some fresh air once a day, but usually they forget and we sit in a stinking, stuffy den all day. I'm one of the cats who live in that horrid den, I've had greencough since I was a young apprentice. Everyday it slowly gets worse. I know I'm going to die soon, but what can I do about it? There's gotta be more to life than just sitting in a gross old den for days and days. Weeks and weeks. Moons and moons- oh I think I'm going to go mad! Why can't you just rid my of your sickness? I'd give anything to get out of here. I don't get to go on patrols, I can't go hunting. They don't allow me to go to gatherings. You know, I'd probably be surprised if the rest of the clans didn't even know I existed.

They can't keep me in here for much longer though. I will literally lose my mind. Also, my friend is dying. And I will not sit by and rot to death when I could be at least trying to help. And I think I know a way how. Since death is hovering over me more and more every day, I'm finding it easier to wander during dreams. Sometimes I can seek out other cats from different clans, and sometimes even talk to them. It's difficult, though. Some clans are harder to find than others in dreams. However, I happen to know where it's the easiest to communicate. Deadclan is built over the bodies of the dead, so they are constantly having to deal with spirits and ghosts and whatnot when they sleep. Yes, tonight I will sleep and dream of Deadclan. I will ask them for help. I am going to get me and my sick clanmates to a medicine cat before we all rot and die in this den. And then once the truth about Frostclans cruelty comes out, I will shut them down for good.

Or at least die trying.

...

"Sick cats," an apprentice called out feebly. "Sick cats, wake up!"

Violet stirred awake, roused by the timid voice at the den entrance. She blinked open her eyes to see Swiftpaw standing awkwardly, staring at them with wide eyes.

"I brought you some food," Swiftpaw whispered, shoving forward a small blackbird. "It's not much, but the hunting party didn't bring back much for any of us."

"Thank you," Violets voice shook and croaked as she forced herself to her shaking legs. She slowly walked over, and took the blackbird in her jaws. The sourness of her breath make her nearly choke. Swiftpaw recoiled back at once, as if someone had bit him. A few moons ago this would have offended Violet, but now she was used to it. Swiftpaw wasn't being rude, he was just terrified of getting the sickness himself.

"Will someone be taking us out in the forest today?" Violet asked him quietly. Swiftpaw looked around in panic, eyes scared. "I shouldn't be talking to you," he said quickly. "They get mad at me when I do."

"Swiftpaw, just answer the question," Violet begged. "Are we going to go on a walk today? We're going crazy in here!"

"Swiftpaw!" an angry sounding warrior called out. "What are you doing? Get away from there!"

"I have to go," Swiftpaw whispered, running away. "I'm sorry."

Violet sighed and slumped back down on the floor of the den.

"Can you break up some of that blackbird for me?" an elder with the sickness croaked. "It's too stiff."

Violet looked over sympathetically at her friend, an old tom cat named Rust. Rust had the sickness for a very long time, he was the one who had been in here the longest. His frail paws touched the blackbird, feeling it for its softness. Blackbird ripped off a share for him and chewed it with her front teeth to soften it, careful not to get spit on it. Rust had no teeth, they all rotted out from the sickness. Violet shuddered every time she thought of it. _Someday my teeth will all rot out too. _Violet passed Rust his share, and he did his best to eat it.

"Is that all they gave us?" a she cat with the sickness croaked. "Do they want us to starve too?"

"We're just going to have to make do with it," Violet said sadly, handing her a piece. "Swiftpaw told me the prey was slim today."

"Yet they have enough for a piece each," Blackpaw hissed angrily, looking out from his peephole. "I can see them all, they're more or less having a feast while all we got is one stinking blackbird."

Violet didn't reply, just slowly ate her share of the bird in silence. The skin was rough and dry, and it tasted stale. _They would give us the worst pick on the pile. _She finished her meal in a few gulps, and when she was done her belly still rumbled in hunger.

"I'm going to go ask for a good piece of prey," Rust suddenly announced, hunger and sickness clouding his brain of sense. "They can't treat us like this," and with that, he heaved himself to his paws and stumbled out of the den before Violet could stop him.

"You, listen here!" Rust called out, voice breaking and cracking. His body swayed, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth. "You cats give me a good piece of prey this instant!"

Violet shoved Blackpaw out of the way to look through the peephole, and wasn't surprised to see five warriors herding the sick cat back to the den.

"You don't come out unless we say you can!" a huge warrior yelled, shoving Rust back in cruelly. Rust crumbled to his paws and collapsed on his stomach, gasping. Violet felt tears sting her eyes, but she forced herself to blink them away. _We can't escape, ever, _she thought to herself. _Not even at night. They guard us. _She knew they posted guards around the camp at night, because of several failed attempts to sneak away in the dark. She slowly walked over and helped Rust get up and to his nest, not speaking. _We can never be free._

_Wait._

A thought struck Violet so hard she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. _Unless I send out a cry for help..._

Violet curled up and shut her eyes, hoping for sleep to come quick.

"What are you doing?" Blackpaw asked. "It's not time for sleep yet."

"I'm getting us out of here," Violet whispered determinedly. "They can't keep us prisoner forever."


	4. Haunted

Dead Rose

Chapter 4: Haunted

"Alright, everyone!" Tigerlily called out timidly to the cats in the clearing. "Do I have any volunteers for a hunting party?"

The crowd tittered, and Deadrose sighed as he watched more than one cat pretend they didn't hear.

"Come _on," _Tigerlily whined, voice pleading. "This needs to get done or else we won't have any dinner!"

"It doesn't work if you ask them to volunteer," Lion whispered to her. "You have to directly assign them or they won't cooperate."

"Uh, okay," Tigerlily mumbled. "Flowertail, you can lead the patrol."

"But I already did the morning border patrol!" Flowertail called out in annoyance. Tigerlily recoiled at once, looking stricken. Deadrose flicked an ear. He knew Flowertail wouldn't dare backtalk the deputy if the deputy was Lion. Lion had a quiet, unspoken authority. _Tigerlily may have been given striking beauty and unfathomable loyalty, but authority over others isn't one of her best points. _

"Flowertail, you're going to lead the patrol," Lion hissed, voice strong and confident. Then he turned to Tigerlily, eyes wary. "Proceed."

"Uh, okay," Tigerlily stammered. "Um, Lostpaw, you can go... and uh, Littlepaw I guess. Dovepaw, you might as well too."

"And what about more warriors?" Lion encouraged, his voice was kind but Deadrose could tell his patience with Tigerlily was growing thin.

"Oh... right!" Tigerlily closed her eyes and stamped a paw in frustration. "I always forget! Well, Deadrose, you can go. You can help Littlepaw with her hunting. And er, who was Lostpaws mentor again?"

"Here," Blueshade slowly raised a paw, and Deadrose could see the she cats annoyance clearly.

"Oh, uh, right Blueshade," Tigerlily stammered, clearly embarrassed. "You can go on the hunting patrol too. Um, and Dovepaws mentor, Whitefire can go as well."

Deadrose tried not to grimace at the thought of Whitefire and failed. Whitefire was a very strange cat, who claimed to see the deceased and talk to spirits. Everyone thought she was a loon, Deadrose felt sorry for poor Dovepaw.

"Alright everyone, let's go and get this over with," Flowertail beckoned for the others to join him out the entrance. "It's starting to rain and you all know what that means."

"Mud," Littlepaw whispered in Deadroses ear, sounding happy she knew the answer to the rhetorical statement. "We all know what that means. Mud!"

"Good job," Deadrose whispered back, pushing his way out into the forest. He looked around at the territory, unsurprisingly disgusted with what he saw. Plants were trampled to the ground, sprinkled and smeared with dirt and rubbish. The trees were stripped bare, with rotten, moldy bark clinging to the sides. _Not to mention it's damp all the time, _Deadrose thought in revolt. _It doesn't even have to freaking rain, yet it's always damp like we've hit a storm. _

"Quite a nice day, don't you think," Whitefire said to Deadrose. Deadrose looked over at the white she cat and forced himself not to react rudely.

"Actually, I was just thinking how lousy it looked out," Deadrose replied, picking up his pace so Whitefire would fall behind. She didn't, and to Deadroses dismay, she quickened her speed to match his.

"Why do you not think it is nice?" Whitefire asked, looking completely offended. "The sun is shining. The moon is bright. And greenleaf is thriving."

Deadrose was completely baffled. "Um, the clouds are covering the sun," he said at last. "There's no moon yet and we are in the middle of newleaf. There's no greens on the trees."

"Oh," Whitefire looked around. "Well, they always tell me to look with my imagination, not my eyes."

"Who does?" Deadrose asked, forcing himself to keep the conversation going in order to be polite. "The elders? They like to spout nonsense, I wouldn't listen to them if I were you."

"No, not elders," Whitefire said defensively. "They will be dead soon anyway."

"That's not a good way to think," Deadrose said after deciding to let that compromising remark slide. "Rainpelt and Icewing have quite a few moons left, and Berrywhisker is in good health."

"Berrywhisker will wander off, and get lost," Whitefire said slowly, an eerie tone catching her voice. "And the others will go out looking for him."

"Nonsense," Deadrose spat, getting tired of Whitefires haunted stories.

"They will fall, one by one, into the fire they call the sun."

"You're crazy," Deadrose hissed, who was by now completely fed up. "Stop talking this trash, Whitefire," and with that, he picked up his pace to a run to catch up with the others.

"Alright, everyone, I expect you will all bring back a good amount of fresh kill," Flowertail was saying. "I understand that preys been a little scarce lately, so we need to do our absolute best."

"Where's my mentor?" Dovepaw asked, looking around for Whitefire. Deadrose looked behind him and couldn't hold back a hiss of frustration. Whitefire was a little ways back, rolling in what looked like a holly bush.

"Whitefire!" Flowertail barked, and then turned to Deadrose. "This was an awful idea," he whispered angrily. "Whitefire needs to be in the elders den."

"No, she needs mental help," Deadrose whispered back, looking on as Whitefire squished a bushel of berries with her head and laughed as the juices rolled down her face.

"Conference with Tigerlily when we get back?" Flowertail suggested. "Redstar won't listen to anyone but her."

"Yes, of course," Deadrose nodded his head grimly. "We'll tell her to talk to Redstar about Whitefire. She shouldn't be allowed out of the camp in her condition."

"What are you two talking about?" Littlepaw asked loudly, butting her head in between the two toms. "And why is no one hunting?"

"We were just talking about Whitefire," Deadrose said, seeing no point in lying.

"Yeah, she's being weird again," Littlepaw agreed, staring at the cat rolling in the bush. Deadrose was about to reply, but stopped when he saw Dovepaw and Lostpaw making there way over to Whitefire.

"Apprentices!" Flowertail called out in alarm. "Come back please!"

It was too late, Lostpaw had already reached her, and Deadrose could see Whitefire open her mouth to talk. _God forbid she spouts one more rubbish tale, I swear I'm gonna-_

"THEY WILL FALL, ONE BY ONE, INTO THE FIRE THEY CALL THE SUN!" Lostpaw suddenly bellowed at the top of his lungs. Whitefire screeched in delight and clapped her paws on the ground, sending holly leaves flying into the air. Deadrose felt his heart drop out of his chest as he heard the words of the crazy cat come out of Lostpaws mouth. Then to his alarm, Littlepaw pelted over chanting the same thing.

"They will fall, one by one, into the fire they call the sun!" she cried out, oblivious to anything but the fact that she was singing with Lostpaw.

"What the hell is that," Flowertail whispered. "Do you think Whitefire told them that?"

"I know for a fact Whitefire told them that, because she just said it to me not even minutes ago," Deadrose hissed.

"It sounds scary," Flowertail admitted. "I'm getting the chills."

"They will fall!" Dovewing joined in too, after Lostpaw and Littlepaw sang a few verses by themselves. The three apprentices chanted loudly, eyes glazed and staring off into the distance, heads bobbing up and down in a synced motion. Deadrose almost felt as though something was possessing them.

Behind them, Whitefire rolled and laughed, red berry juices staining her pelt.

...

"Why do you come out during the day?" Whitefire asked the ghost. The ghost cat shrugged, his black sunken eye holes looked menacing in the shadows.

"_We come out to love you," _he replied. _"And help you."_

"It's not so helpful when everyone thinks I'm crazy," Whitefire murmured. "When you three are around, it makes everything so difficult -"

"_We aren't just around you," _the second ghost said. _"We are you."_

"_All three parts, in the middle world," _the third ghost added.

"_Living in shadows, waiting for the correct moment to use our abilities," _the first ghost said.

"But... why me?" Whitefire whispered. "Why did you have to pick me to be your body of choice?"

"_Well, we do usually use corpses," _the second ghost looked over at the first ghost as he spoke. The first ghost nodded slowly. _"Yes, yes, corpses do quite nicely."_

"Then go find one," Whitefire mumbled. "I'm sick of you three controlling me."

"_Oh, but you do not see, what we do for you," _the words slithered out of the third ghosts mouth like a snakes tongue. _"With us you can do whatever you like."_

"How?" Whitefires voice cracked. "No one likes me! Everyone thinks I'm crazy!"

"_Ah, but if you were not crazy, what would you be? A dead shell. If you were not crazy, you may as well be a corpse on the ground."_

"If you are all me, then you're crazy too," Whitefire said slowly. "You are all insane..."

"_I don't like that word, Whitefire," _the first ghost leaned in and towered over her. _"Insane. You hurt my feelings just now."_

"I'm sorry," Whitefire choked.

"_You know how much I don't like it when you hurt my feelings, Whitefire."_

And with that, the first ghost screamed and dove at Whitefire, who squeezed her eyes shut in fear. Whitefire then fell, and writhed and struggled on the ground, convulsing over and over again. And with one final jerk, she opened her eyes.

"_Whitefire, when you make a racket like that, you are going to alert the others," _the second ghost scolded.

"I'm not Whitefire," Whitefire smiled evilly. "I am Denver."

The other ghosts smiled as she said the name of the first ghost, who was now controlling her body.

"_Denver, we have others searching for bodies too," _the second ghost said quietly. _"But none of them are responding to our dreams."_

"Then make them respond," Whitefire snarled. "Lie to them. Manipulate them. I don't fucking care if you have to threaten them with torture, just get them to agree to what you say."

"_We tried," _the third ghost said. _"But no one will..."_

"We got Whitefire to do it," Whitefire smiled demonically. "And all it took was someone pretending they care."

"_I will try again tonight, Denver," _the second and third ghosts bowed their heads, and then faded into the background.

Somewhere far above in the sky, the spirit of Whitefire cried and screamed.


	5. Denvers Lament

Dead Rose

Chapter 5: Denvers Lament

"Sunflower, may I have a word with you please?"

Sunflower turned her head to see her leader standing behind her. Sunflower swallowed her vole in two gulps and nodded. "Sure, Jaggedstar," she replied, feeling a tinge of unease. "What's this about?"

"Ah, well," Jaggedstar shifted awkwardly on his paws. "Let's go to my den to talk."

"Uh, alright," Sunflower followed Jaggedstar into his secluded den in the corner of the camp, feeling more uncomfortable by the second. Once they were inside the den and settled, Jaggedstar spoke again.

"So, Sunflower," he started. "I wanted to discuss Spottedleafs litter with you."

"Okay," Sunflower said in confusion, thinking of the three kits Spottedleaf had given birth to moons ago. Reedpaw, Smallpaw and Jaypaw, Sunflowers apprentice.

"I'm going to be holding a warrior ceremony tonight," Jaggedstar said slowly, carefully. Sunflower didn't notice his caution, and smiled happily. "I'm so proud of Jaypaw," she said, heart lifting tremendously at the thought of her apprentice finally becoming a warrior. Then a thought hit her like a blow to the side of the head. "Wait... why do you look so upset about it?"

"I'll be holding a warrior ceremony," Jaggedstar said after a long silence. "For Reedpaw and Smallpaw."

"But... Jaypaw too, right?" Sunflower asked, even though she already knew the answer. Anger boiled beneath her pelt, and she glared at her leader.

"Jaypaw will not be made a warrior yet," Jaggedstar said quietly.

"I figured that out myself," Sunflower hissed, rising to her paws. "How could you, Jaggedstar? He will be devastated that his brothers will be made warriors without him!"

"I feel bad, but there's nothing I can do about it," Jaggedstar defended himself. "Jaypaws not ready, plain and simple."

"Excuse me," Sunflower growled, getting very angry. "I'm his _mentor. _I train him."

"Yeah, well, Sunflower, we both know you're soft on him," Jaggedstar said. "Everyone see's it, even Jaypaw. The only reason he hasn't said anything about it is because he likes it that way because even your soft side is a challenge for him."

"Give me one example when I've been soft," Sunflower hissed. "I train that cat as I would any other."

"When I overlooked a training session a while ago, Scarface had Reedpaw practicing a double fight on two warriors. Leopardfur was showing Smallpaw how to leap a cat twice his size. You were sitting in the corner with Jaypaw screaming your heads off."

Sunflower knew what he was talking about at once. Scream was an exercise Sunflower did with Jaypaw every so often. It consisted of screaming at the top of their lungs for as long as possible, to release anger and frustration. It really helped Jaypaw, and Sunflower joined in when they were around others so he wouldn't feel embarrassed screaming by himself.

"We were doing Scream on that day because Jaypaw was having a horrible past few days prior to that," Sunflower explained angrily. "He wasn't feeling well enough to do regular fighting training so we did Scream instead."

"I'm not even going to explain to you how weird your screaming exercise is," Jaggedstar hissed through gritted teeth. "But I will tell you this. Even if Jaypaw _was_ feeling well that day, he would have done terribly with his fighting training. He always does."

"He's a little slower with the techniques because of his eye," Sunflower whispered, voice scathing. "He cannot see through one eye, if you've forgotten."

"Oh no, I'd never forget," Jaggedstar growled. "You use it as an excuse every time Jaypaws mentioned."

"He deserves to be a warrior."

"He'd be shredded in a second in battle. He's useless at hunting."

"He will always feel like he's not good enough if his brothers are made warriors and he's not."

"Sunflower, I really don't have a choice here. Scarface agrees too."

"Scarface?" Sunflower cried. "Jaypaws _dad _doesn't even want him to be a warrior?"

"He wants him to become a warrior when he's ready," was Jaggedstars simple response. "I'm sorry, Sunflower. Now is not that time."

At this point, Sunflower was shaking from rage. "He'll be ready soon enough," she spat, and with that, stalked out of the den. She walked across the clearing in silence, bones trembling with rage. She was dimly aware of Jaypaw making his way towards her, but she was so upset she could barely look at him.

"Hey... what's wrong?" Jaypaw asked in alarm once he saw Sunflowers expression. "Why do you look so... distraught?"

Sunflowers heart broke at the thought of breaking the bad news to her apprentice, but she saw no point in putting it off. The evening was coming fast, and she knew she didn't have much time before Jaggedstar started the ceremony.

"Oh Jaypaw," Sunflowers voice broke, and she struggled to continue. "Your brothers are having their warriors ceremony tonight."

"My brothers... but..." Jaypaws voice trailed off. "What about me? Don't I get a ceremony too? Or is Jaggedstar just going to give me my warrior name and not congratulate me?"

Sunflower felt even worse as she realized Jaypaw was horribly misunderstood.

"Jaypaw, he's-"

"I mean, I'm okay with that if he gives me a good name," Jaypaw interrupted. "Like... Jaystorm or Jayfeather. Wouldn't those be good names?"

"Jaypaw, he's not making you a warrior," Sunflower blurted out the words before she could stop them. "The ceremony is just for your brothers."

All the life seemed to drain out of Jaypaws good eye, his clouded one didn't change. "But..." he whispered. "What about me?"

"He doesn't think you're ready," Sunflower said miserably. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Jaypaw snapped. "It's not your fault I'm useless."

"No one said you're useless," Sunflower said defensively.

"Well, they might as well have!" Jaypaw cried, tearing up grass with his claws. "Who wants to make the cat with one eye a warrior? Ha!"

"Im going to get you there," Sunflower promised gently. "We'll do extra training and I'll help you with your hunting."

"It won't do any good," Jaypaw growled under his breath. His fur was quivering, and Sunflower knew he was hideously upset. "They won't make me a warrior. Ever."

"Yes, they will," Sunflower said. "It's just going to take a bit longer."

"Will all cats old enough to catch their own prey join me for a clan meeting!"

Sunflower felt a fresh wave of anger flow through her as she heard her leaders call. _He's starting the ceremony earlier than I thought. _

"Come on," Sunflower sadly nudged Jaypaw. "Let's go."

"Screw that," Jaypaw snapped, recoiling back. "I'm not gonna sit around and watch my brothers get the same thing that I deserve."

"But... don't you want to congratulate them?" Sunflower asked.

"No," Jaypaw hissed, turning away. Sunflower watched him walk a few steps before she found words. "Where are you going?" she called.

"The forest," Jaypaw spat over his shoulder. "I'm gonna go do Scream."

"Do you want me to come?" Sunflower called, not wanting to miss a warrior ceremony but at the same time riddled with guilt that she should comfort the young cat.

"No," Jaypaw turned and looked her in the eye angrily. "I want to do Scream by myself."

All Sunflower could do was watch him leave the clearing in silence.

...

Jaypaw ran through the jungle of his territory, ignoring the whiplash of branches and stems on his face. _How dare he, _he thought angrily. _I deserve to be a warrior too! _More branches lashed at his face. Jaypaw cried out in pain as one stung his good eye.

"What more can you do to me?" Jaypaw finally broke down, sinking to his paws. Blood trickled out from under his eyelid, and he squeezed both eyes shut in pain. "Kick me down again?" he screamed at the darkness. "Kill me? Ya might as well!" after a few moments of sobbing on the ground, Jaypaw picked himself up. _I'll show them what it takes to be a warrior, _he thought, sadness suddenly replacing itself with anger. _I'll go and kill something. They won't ever forget that. Then they won't ignore me anymore. _Jaypaw blinked open his eye as he stumbled through the trees. A mouse then came into view, and Jaypaw locked his good eye on it. _I will kill you, little mouse, _he thought to himself. _I will kill you, mousy mouse. _The mouses ears suddenly pricked, as if it knew something was watching. Jaypaw lifted a paw, crackling a leaf as he did so. The sound sent the mouse fleeing through the brush. Jaypaw crashed after it, barreling through the undergrowth at top speed. He blundered half blind until his lungs screamed for him to stop, and his muscles shrieked in protest. He stopped running, breath heaving from his mouth.

The mouse scuttled under a bush and disappeared.

"You almost had it. If you ran just a little bit longer, the mouse would have been yours."

Jaypaw started at the unexpected voice, and his head whipped up in alarm. A white she cat was standing a few tail lengths away, neck stretched forward as she stared at him. It was a creepy posture to be sitting in, and Jaypaw found himself feeling guarded.

"Who... who are you?" Jaypaw asked after he had caught his breath. He realized with a jolt that the white cat was from a different clan, Deadclan by the way she smelled. _I didn't realize I had run so close to their border, _Jaypaw thought. _I better not do Scream right here. I'll alarm every cat in their clan. _

"You almost had it. If you ran just a little bit longer, the mouse would have been yours," the cat said in the exact same tone she had before.

"Uh, you just said that," Jaypaw said in confusion. The cat stretched its neck out farther, hunching down. Jaypaw found himself leaning back.

"What are you doing out here?" the white cat asked, mouth moving so exaggerated it looked positively creepy. Her tongue flapped and her eyes lolled slightly.

"Um..." Jaypaw stalled. "What are _you _doing out here?"

"I came to do Scream," the white cat said simply. "Helps me release anger."

"You... you know of Scream?" Jaypaw shook his head in disbelief. "Sunflower said we were the only ones who did that... she made it up herself!"

"I hear you doing Scream when I wander around," the cat said. Jaypaw didn't know how it was possible, but the cat stretched its neck out farther.

"You ... hear us?" Jaypaw stammered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to alarm anyone. Sunflower usually takes me to a secluded spot so we won't be heard."

"I always hear," the cat replied. "I like to join in."

"Who... are you?" Jaypaw asked after a long silence. _I knew Deadclan was weird, but I never thought they were this weird. This cats freaking me out. _

"My name is Denver," the white she cat replied.

"Denver?" Jaypaw crowed in disbelief.

"Why you sound surprised?"

Jaypaw decided to ignore the incorrect use of Denvers grammar, and pressed on. "Denver sounds like a boy cats name," he said. "You're a she cat, so it sounds funny."

"Ah, names," Denver said. "I don't like to burden myself with one. I am just me."

"Then... why did you say your name was Denver?"

"It's just easier for cats to have something to call me," Denver replied, shrugging. "It's just convenient for them, you know."

"Uh, great," Jaypaw started backing up. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Denver. I'm going to go now."

"Wait... don't you want to do Scream?" Denver called. "I know you're mad about your ceremony that Jaggedstar denied."

Jaypaw stopped and turned to look back at her, eyes narrowing. "How did you know about that?" he asked slowly.

"Because," Denver said, stepping over the border. "I know everything. Now Scream with me."

"Um, no," Jaypaw said, voice getting high pitched. "Go away."

"Fine, then I'll do it myself!" Denver opened her mouth and screamed, and to Jaypaws horror, the white cats mouth stretched double the size it should, sharp teeth glinting. It's eyes turned black, sunken eye holes that seemed to burn their way into Jaypaws soul. Jaypaw then felt a kick, and a heart wrenching tug at his body.

_What the hell is going on? Is this Deadclan freak trying to possess me?!_

Jaypaw rolled and jumped, thrashing at nothing. His claws pierced the invisible, and when he looked up he saw that Denver had not moved. She sat rigid still, like a stone statue, mouth wide open and eyes black. Then, with a jolt, Denvers eyes returned, and she shut her mouth with a snap. Jaypaw realized nothing was tugging at him anymore, so he stood up, shaking violently. To his surprise, Denver seemed to change. Her whole body trembled, and she shrank back like a normal cat. Her voice changed too, and when Jaypaw heard her speak again he could hardly believe she was the same cat.

"G-g-get a-away fr-from here!" she cried, frightened. "Go home and never come back here!"

"But... Denver why-" despite the weirdness that just happened, Jaypaw wanted to know what was going on. "Denver what just happened-"

"My name isn't Denver," Denver(what the hell do I call her now) whispered.

"Then... what's your name?" Jaypaw cried. "How can you just call yourself one thing and then change it?"

"Denver is a spirit," the white cat said quietly.

"Yeah, well I got that when he attacked me," Jaypaw snapped. "What happened? Did he possess you?"

The white cat stopped shaking for a minute, and looked up at Jaypaw with wide, scared eyes. "Wait..." she whispered. "You... believe... me?"

"Well, it's the most logical explanation, given the circumstances," Jaypaw sighed. _I'd almost rather be watching my brothers become warriors without me rather than be here right now._

"No ones ever believed me before," the cat said in a voice so quiet Jaypaw nearly didn't catch it. "Thank you."

"Uh, you're welcome," Jaypaw replied gruffly. "Um... are you going to be okay?"

"There's not much time until Denver comes back," the white cat said in a scared voice.

"Run from him," Jaypaw said, feeling an unexpected pang of concern for the she cat. "Don't let him torment you."

"I don't have a choice," the white cat whispered. "He already sunk his claws in me and he's not letting go. And he almost got you."

"Well, he didn't," Jaypaw said proudly.

"He's just going to move on to someone else," the cat sighed. "They all will."

"What's your name?" Jaypaw blurted out, feeling rude for being so off topic but unable to think of a way to ease back into the names topic. "Since you're not Denver... who are you?"

"My name is Whitefire," Whitefire said. "I know your name already, Jaypaw. Denver told me."

"Jaypaw!"

Jaypaw heard his mentors voice calling through the trees. "I have to go," he whispered to Whitefire.

"Don't go," Whitefire begged. "Please. I don't have anyone. Deadclan hates me."

"Jaypaw!"

Sunflowers voice grew louder, and Jaypaw felt torn.

"Please," Whitefire pleaded.

"Meet me here tomorrow night," Jaypaw whispered quickly. "And don't bring Denver. Well, you probably don't have a choice so let me reword that. Try _not _to bring Denver."

"Thank you," Whitefire smiled for the first time. "Thank you so much..."

"I know how it feels to be the outcast," Jaypaw said as he turned to the trees. "Maybe we just need to be outcasts together," and with that, he fled through the trees in search for his mentor.


	6. Waterfall

Dead Rose

Chapter 6: Waterfall

"Sick cats, come on!" a harsh voice yelled, startling Violet out of her much needed sleep. "If you want to get some fresh air, I advise you get off your lazy hides and follow me!"

"The one day we get to go on a walk, I have a huge headache," Blackpaw hissed as he forced himself to his feet. "I can barely even freaking think straight."

"Stay here if you want then," Violet said mildly.

"If I stay here my headache will be gone the second you get back," Blackpaw hissed, swaying slightly. "That's just the way my luck goes."

"Violet, can you help me up please?" Rust croaked, looking up at her with cloudy eyes.

"Of course," Violet leaned down and pushed herself under him, hoisting him up with a heave that took all her strength. Rust staggered to his paws, and Violet braced herself in case she had to let him lean on her.

"Is she coming?" Blackpaw asked no on in particular, prodding the cat in the corner.

"Don't poke her like that," Violet hissed, feeling a urge of anger at Blackpaws insensitivity. In the corner, Rainheart was stretched out asleep, bones and ribs jutting out of her sides in sharp edges.

"Oh let Rainheart sleep," Rust grumbled. "She looks dead tired."

"Well, soon she's just going to be dead," Blackpaw said scathingly. "She won't eat, she won't move. Makes me wonder why she even holds on to life."

Violet opened her mouth to say something quite rude back to the ignorant apprentice, but stopped when she heard a warriors voice yell again.

"SICK CATS! LET'S GO!" he screamed.

"Come on," Violet sighed, nudging Rust to the exit. "If we don't go now we may not get a chance to go out again in a while."

She pushed her way out into the open, relishing the feel of clean air traveling into her lungs. _If we had a medicine cat, he could fix us and then we wouldn't have to breathe our tainted den air anymore. _Violet wasn't surprised to see the entire population of the clan pressed up against the far corner of the camp, noses down. _They don't want the sickness. Quite personally, I don't blame them. _The cat leading the patrol wore a big leaf around his nose and mouth, tied behind his head with soft twigs. His eyes were angry and guarded, and Violet felt a sick urge to cough on him.

"Let's go," the cat nudged old Rust sharply, nearly sending him falling to the ground. The cat with the masks name was Longwhisker, the deputy of the clan. This was the second patrol Longwhisker had done, and Violet dimly wondered what happened to the cat who used to do them. Three other cats in leaf masks stepped up around them, probably to prevent them from making a break for it in the forest. _As if we even could. We'd all probably run four steps and then fall over coughing. _Longwhisker led the cats out of the camp, Violet gently guiding Rust by letting him lean on her. _One day I'll be too sick to help him anymore... what will happen then? _They all heaved and wheezed as they walked, resulting in disgusted glares from the warriors. Blackpaw started to cough violently, and stopped to spit out a bloody ball of phlegm that was lodged in the back of his throat.

"Disgusting," a warrior hissed. Blackpaw hissed and spat the leftover blood and spit that was left behind at the warrior.

"HEY!" the cat screamed, jumping back in shock. He immediatly started to roll in the grass to get it off.

"Do you want to go back to the den?" Longwhisker demanded at the sick apprentice.

"No," Blackpaw mumbled. "Sorry."

Violet thought he didn't look sorry in all, in fact, he look positively delighted. He looked at Violet, a weird expression crossing his face.

"What?" Violet mouthed the words to him, hoping the guards didn't see.

"Code four," Blackpaw said out loud. Violet looked at him in disbelief. Code four was a plan they had created a long time ago to get out, which solely relied on infecting the other cats.

"What? What's code four?" a guard snapped.

"It means I have to go pee," Blackpaw said angrily, making a big show of rolling his eyes even though that wasn't what code four was at all.

"Ugh. Go, then," Longwhisker snapped.

"I don't have to go anymore," Blackpaw mumbled after realizing he didn't have to go at all. "False alarm."

"Good freaking grief," a guard snapped. "Stop fooling around so we can just get this over with."

Violet subtly looked over at Rust, hoping he had heard the code four plan. By the slight glimmer in his cloudy eyes, Violet knew he was in. They walked in silence for a little while, not looking at each other. Violet swished the spit around in her mouth, collecting as much as she could. She was just starting to wonder if her mouth could hold any more when Rust suddenly coughed. Thick streams of saliva flew out of his mouth, landing on the guard closest to him.

"Pleh!" he coughed and retched, sending a spray of sickness and blood all over the same guard.

"WHAT THE HELL!" the guard shrieked, at the same time Blackpaw let his go. There was no time to wonder how Blackpaw managed to create another ball of blood and mucus. It landed on the ear of Longwhisker, and started to drool down into his mask. Violet stood rigid, as a course of screams and swearing broke out. She had almost forgotten she had to spit too, and it wasn't until Longwhisker looked up demonically at her. Violet spewed her sickness at his face too, most of it landing on his mask, but some splattering on his neck and ears. The guards violently shoved the cats into a bush, claws out and teeth bared.

"That's it," Longwhisker hissed right into Violets face. "No more walks. No more food. You three have officially lost all your rights."

"You have to give us food," Blackpaw hissed.

"Shut up, you disease ridden runt," Longwhisker growled, before returning to the others. He looked down at Rust, who was collapsed in the back of the bush, wheezing and coughing. Violet was suddenly worried that he might hurt the old cat, but luckily he stepped back.

"You three stay here," Longwhisker snapped, then turned and walked back to the guards to get them to clean him.

"That, was _great!" _Blackpaw whispered from where he was crowded. "It worked perfectly!"

"Well, we got Longwhisker, that's for sure," Violet murmured. "But now we aren't allowed any more walks. Or food!"

"Then its time for code one," Rust huffed, barely able to get the words out. Violet shot him a look of disbelief, and he shrugged. "We might as well," he said quickly. "It's not like we have very many chances to do it."

"I'm down," Blackpaw said at once, and then to Violets horror, opened his mouth and started wailing and screaming at the top of his lungs. Rust joined in too, mouth open wide as he yelled. Violet saw no point in protesting, so she started screaming too. Code one consisted of everyone screaming at the top of their lungs, in the slim hopes of raising alarm from other clans. The chances were slim to nothing that a different clan cat would investigate, but hey, you never know. Violet hollered and screeched until the guards trampled into bush.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Longwhisker bellowed, beating Blackpaw upside the head with a massive paw.

"Nothing," Violet whispered.

"Sick cats can sure create a big racket," a guard growled. "Who knew."

"Yeah, a racket big enough to alert the entire damn forest," Longwhisker hissed, shoving Blackpaw again as he struggled to get up.

"What do we do with them then?" a guard murmured to Longwhisker. "If we take them home, they'll just think of something else."

"Not to mention they've infected enough of us already," Longwhisker whispered. "No, we're not gonna take them home."

"Good," Blackpaw mumbled.

"Shut up," Longwhisker snapped. "Thanks to you, I'm probably gonna get the sickness now."

"Yeah, and then you'll end up like me," Blackpaw hissed, coughing as he spoke. "And then someone will beat you down and prison you."

"Yeah right, that's cruel," Longwhisker laughed, pathetically unaware of his hypocritical words. "My clan mates wouldn't imprison me. I'm the deputy."

"Yeah, and I used to be a respected senior warrior of Frostclan," Rust put in quietly. "Well, the old Frostclan. What we live in now is not the Frostclan I knew."

"Yeah, well," Longwhisker stuttered, not sure what to say. His eyes glimmered with unease, and Violet knew Rust had made a point.

"He's just trying to get to you," a guard sneered into Longwhiskers ear. "Let's take them all to the river."

"I guess we don't have much of a choice now, do we," Longwhisker whispered, staring at Rust. "They've proved to be a threat."

"Wait- what? What river?" Violet asked in alarm as the guards herded them out of the bush. "You'll find out soon enough," a guard hissed, shoved Violet into Blackpaw. The guards formed around them, into a tight ball that the cats couldn't get out of.

"No, I don't want to go to a river!" Violet cried, desperately trying to shove her way through the guards. "Why are we going down there? Why are we-"

"Violet, stop," Blackpaw sighed. "They're giving us a way out, just accept it."

"What do you mean, a way out?" A hunt of hysteria entered Violets voice, and she then got a terrible suspicion. She thrashed and kicked against the guards, but her terrible weakness was no match for four strong warriors.

"Would you rather die slowly from this disease, Violet?" Blackpaw snapped, eyes filling with tears. "Would you?!"

"I'd rather live!" Violet cried, still shoving against the cats. "This isn't the way it's supposed to be! HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"

"If you keep making this difficult, then so will we," Longwhisker hissed, stopping to a violent halt. "You can go last."

"HELP! SOMEONE, ANYONE!" Violet was growing very desperate. "HELP US!" then she thought of something, and she turned to the peaceful Blackpaw. "Blackpaw, is this really what you want?" she begged.

"I've wanted to die for a long time, Violet. You know that," Blackpaw whispered.

"We're here," Longwhisker suddenly grunted. Violet stopped yelling and looked forward, blood draining from her veins. They were standing above a cliff, far below a river splashed and churned.

"Oh my god," Violet felt bile rising in her throat. "You can't do this- you can't-"

"HELP!" Rust yelled. "HELP US!"

"You go first, because you pissed me off before," a guard growled, giving Rust a huge heave with his body weight.

"OH MY GOD NO!" Violet screeched as Rust tumbled over the edge of the cliff. She was sobbing as she looked down, and Rust hit the water with a crash.

"You next, you filthy kit," Longwhisker grabbed Blackpaw and heaved him over too. Violet screamed again, not before catching the look in Blackpaws eye. _I'm sorry, _he seemed to say.

"How was that?" a guard growled in Violets ear. "You just watched your best friends die. How did that feel?"

"They might not be dead," Violet whispered, looking down at the white rapids. "They're probably swimming to shore right now."

"Rust can barely walk, let alone swim," the guard whispered. "And do you really think Blackpaw will be able to breathe in such conditions? We all know his lungs are the worst."

"How could you do this," Violet whispered. "How could you be so cruel?"

"When you have the power, dead Violet, you'd find you're capable of many things," the guards voice slithered like a snake. "And if you really think those two are alive, then you're the stupidest cat I've ever met."

"Just push her off," Longwhisker called. "We need to get out of here."

"Are they alive?" Violet asked herself quietly, anger suddenly boiling beneath her pelt. "I guess there's only one way to find out!" and with that, she grabbed the unexpected guard by the scruff of his neck and jumped, taking him with her.

...

Blackpaw hit the water with such force it knocked the wind of him, paralyzing his entire body. After he finally pieced together that he was alive, Blackpaw gave up. _I get sick for moons on end. I get pushed off a cliff into a river. What the fuck does it take to die in this world? _Blackpaw was woken out of his dismal thoughts as his body hit a rock underwater, rattling his brains. Blackpaw briefly considered letting himself drown, but as his brain started to scream for air, Blackpaw found himself kicking towards the surface against his will. He broke through just as his eyesight was starting to fade, and he gasped for air. Water clogged his already half closed throat, and Blackpaw found himself choking and thrashing. His body slammed against another rock, and he was suddenly under the impression he was going to drown. He managed to stay upright in the water for a few moments, then he was surprised to find that the water evened out. In seconds, in went from deadly rapids to a smooth, even river. It flowed nicely, lifting Blackpaw so he didn't have to swim. _Huh, _he thought happily, thankful for the break from all that kicking. _If it was like this the whole time that would have been nice. _He looked forward, wondering when there would be more rapids. _Huh, _he thought as he slowly treaded the water. _That's weird. It's smooth water ... but then it just cuts off. _He treaded a little more, stretching his neck higher so he could see more. _The trees are gone too... they just vanish... all I can see is the water cutting off and some distant fore-OH MY GOD. _The realization hit Blackpaw harder than the rapids. He tried to turn around, but the water splashed in his mouth and made him choke. He kicked as hard as he could anyway, but he was no match for the heavy current. _God dammit I want to die, but not like that! _He thought desperately. _If I fall down that I'm probably gonna hit my head and bleed everywhere and I just don't want to-_

_AHHHHHHHH_

Blackpaw fell over the waterfall kicking and screaming, dimly aware of the rocks jeering out the bottom like sharp mountains. He shut his eyes, preparing for death.

But death did not come.


	7. Shadowed Desires

Dead Rose

Chapter 7: Shadowed Desires

Redstar sat alone in his den, humming a song out of tune. The low murmurs of his voice carried on, and echoed around the den in an eerie whisper. Redstar opened his mouth and started to sing louder, enjoying himself.

"Uh, Redstar?" a voice made him stop short. "Can I come in?"

"No, I am busy," Redstar hissed, pointing to the leaves he was tearing up. "Come back later or go talk to Deadrose."

"Um, this is Deadrose," Deadrose said in confusion. Redstar looked up and sighed when he realized he was right.

"Oh," Redstar growled. "What do you want?"

"The gathering is tonight," Deadrose started. "And we need to pick out the cats for the patrol."

"That's Tigerlilys job," Redstar spat. "Stop trying to take over her duties."

"Well," Deadrose sputtered. "Someone's gotta do the duties... Tigerlily keeps putting it off."

"She will do them when she is ready," Redstar snapped, kicking his leaves that he had shredded. "Leave my sight."

"Okay," Deadrose mumbled, and ducked back out of the den and into the clearing. He spotted Lion and Flowertail right away, anxiously waiting for him.

"Redstar wants Tigerlily to do it," Deadrose said in annoyance as he approached them. "He won't do it himself."

"Great," Lion said sarcastically. "It's almost time to go, and yet nothing is organized. Where is Tigerlily, anyway?"

"I'm here!"

The three toms turned to see Tigerlily making her way towards them.

"Where were you?" Lion said angrily. "Are you aware it's the gathering tonight?"

"Relax," Tigerlily sighed. "I told Deadrose he could choose the cats."

"Redstar wants you to do it," Deadrose replied. "So you better choose, and fast."

Tigerlily looked between the four of them, getting more irritated by the second. "You all don't have to attack me like this," she hissed. "I already chose the cats so stop screaming at me!"

"Who?" Lion asked mildly.

"Um, Redstar, all four of us, Littlepaw, Lostpaw, Blueshade and Whitefire."

By the obvious look of confusion on Tigerlilys face, it was obvious to Deadrose that she hadn't so much as thought about the cats coming to the gathering until now.

"Alright, that sounds good enough," Flowertail put in. In a lower voice he added: "Personally I'd rather Whitefire didn't come, but oh well."

"Why, what's wrong with Whitefire?" Tigerlily asked. "Well, besides the obvious."

"Don't you remember-" Flowertail stopped short. "Oh wait, we forgot to tell you! Deadrose, how could we have forgotten?"

"I don't know," Deadrose sighed in exasperation. "Just tell her. We need to get going."

"Okay," Flowertail lowered his voice as he launched into the story of Whitefire on the patrol.

"It was so _weird_," Flowertail finished in a rush. "She just kept laughing and rolling in the leaves, berries crushing and smearing all over her face. And the apprentices wouldn't stop singing her horrid song."

"That's strange," Tigerlily murmured. "I wish you had told me sooner."

"I wish you planned out the gathering sooner," Lion mumbled from where he was sitting. Tigerlily shot him an angry look, but didn't say anything.

"Er- guys," Deadrose said awkwardly. He had looked across the clearing, in hopes of seeing his apprentice, but what he saw was not at all Littlepaw.

Whitefire sat in the corner, back hunched and neck stretched out.

And she was looking straight at them.

"Ugh..." Flowertail rolled his eyes at his friends. "She's such a freak."

"No doubt," Deadrose agreed reluctantly, hoping Whitefire didn't hear them talking about her. "She's a strange cat."

"Hey! Whitefire!" Tigerlily called out. "You're coming to the gathering tonight!"

Whitefire seemed to snap out of her hunched posture, jumping to her paws. "But... no!" she cried across the clearing. Cats sitting in different groups turned to stare, and Deadrose lowered his head in embarrassment.

"I was going to do stuff tonight," Whitefire snapped, stalking over to them. "I don't have time for the gathering!"

"What were you possibly going to do instead?" Tigerlily asked in annoyance. "You should be happy I picked you for the gathering and not someone else."

"Yeah, everyone should be just _delighted _that you picked them," Whitefire hissed. "Well, newsflash, Tigerlily! The only reason anyone even likes you is because you're sickeningly beautiful and all the toms want to be with you! And you think all the she cats want to be like you, but you are _wrong!"_

Tigerlily gaped at Whitefires outburst, eyes wide in shock. "How... dare you speak to me like that?" she growled at last. "Have you forgotten I am the deputy?"

"You never cease to remind me," Whitefire growled. "Well I've got news for you! You're a bad deputy and I am not looking forward to the day when Redstar dies because you will be an even worse leader!"

"That's enough," Lion broke in before Whitefire could dig her grave even farther. "Whitefire, you're being completely inappropriate."

"Truth hurts," was Whitefires scathing reply.

"You... you..." Tigerlily sputtered, body quivering in anger. Deadrose waited patiently for Tigerlily to finish her sentence, but to his surprise, she didn't.

"I don't have time for this," Tigerlily hissed. "I have to go tell Redstar we're ready to leave." and with that, she turned and stalked away.

"I think I made my point," Whitefire said triumphantly.

"Tigerlily may struggle being a deputy, but at least she's liked," Flowertail hissed. Whitefire looked at him in alarm.

"I've got _news for you _too," Flowertail continued. "You're a freak. Everyone in this clan thinks you're insane. And Tigerlily may not be the best deputy, but you're not the best at anything!"

Whitefire lowered her head and closed her eyes. Deadrose was just about to tell Flowertail he was out of line, but was stopped short when Whitefire let out one single sob and turned around to walk away. "I'll come meet the patrol when it's ready to leave," she whispered.

When she was out of earshot again, Deadrose turned to his friend. "Don't you think you were being a bit rude?" he asked. "I mean, I don't like Whitefire as much as any other cat, but that was a little cruel."

"She hurt Tigerlilys feelings, so I hurt hers," Flowertail said, getting a weird expression on his face. "Why does everyone look annoyed at me...?"

"Just forget it," Lion said abruptly. "We should get going. There's no time to keep fooling around."

"I'll go get the apprentices," Deadrose said before walking away.

_This is going to be one of those strange nights._

_I can already tell._

...

Whitefire trudged on at the back of the patrol, glaring at the back of Flowertails head. _Dumb idiot. He's the foulest cat in the forest. _

"_Would you like us to pay him a visit?" _

Whitefire visibly jumped at the sound of Denvers voice. She turned her head to the side to see the faint figure of her tormenter walking beside her. Beside Denver was the third ghost. Whitefire wondered dimly where the second one was.

"_Whitefire," _Denver snapped. _"I asked you a question. Please be polite and answer."_

Whitefire shook her head no, hoping no one saw. _That would be just like Denver. Strikes up a conversation in the middle of a gathering patrol. _

"_I didn't catch that, Whitefire."_

"No, I don't want you to pay him a visit," Whitefire said as quick as she could. Blueshade and Lostpaw turned to stare at her. Whitefire just shrugged and looked away.

"_Are you going to meet that apprentice tonight?" _Denver asked quietly. _"The one with a clouded eye?"_

"Yes," Whitefire said, realizing that if she didn't answer Denver would just pester her until she did. She saw Blueshades ear twitch, but she didn't look back again. _When Denvers in my body, they must hear me talk to myself all the time, _Whitefire thought briefly. _I guess it won't look to weird. _

"_I don't like the clouded eye cat, Whitefire. I advise you not to see him anymore."_

"Why, jealous I finally made a friend that doesn't use me?" Whitefire whispered under her breath. Whitefires heart pounded as she spoke, she had never openly defied Denver in front of the other ghosts before. _He won't hurt me with so many others around, _Whitefire gulped. _I hope._

"_Whitefire, don't you remember our little agreement?" _Denver said at last. _"You're breaking a rule."_

"You tricked me," Whitefire growled. "You told me you loved me."

"_Ah, but see I do."_

"You're sick," Whitefire mumbled.

"_Don't see Jaypaw, Whitefire. Unless you want me to pay a visit to your little friend."_

"Don't touch him," Whitefire hissed. "Don't you dare touch him." The thought of Denver possessing her was bad enough, but the thought of him getting into Jaypaws body and kicking out his spirit made her sick to her stomach.

"_I will respect your wishes, Whitefire," _Denver smiled at her. _"But I also expect you to respect mine."_

Whitefire turned her head away as Denver vanished, along with the third ghost. She looked up, and was alarmed to sense tension spiking the air in volts.

"Who was Whitefire talking to?" Whitefire heard Lostpaw ask his mentor. Blueshade sighed. "Herself," she replied quietly.

"I do that sometimes," Lostpaw shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world. Whitefire felt a pang of appreciation, even though she knew Lostpaw wasn't sticking up for her.

"I tell myself stuff because I get scatterbrained," Lostpaw explained when Blueshade didn't respond.

"Well, that's different," Blueshade murmured. "You tell yourself things you need to remember, and that's good. Whitefire thinks she's actually talking to someone."

"Oh. That's weird," was Lostpaws reply. Whitefires brief moment of appreciation vanished at once. _I wonder what they would have thought if Denver was inside me, _Whitefire thought scathingly. _It would have been even worse. _She was used to Denver making her to dumb things when he was controlling her, but it was still difficult to watch when you couldn't do anything about it.

"I like Whitefire, she likes to play and sing," Lostpaw said loudly. Whitefire nearly stopped walking she was so shocked, but she forced herself to keep going. By his defensive tone, Whitefire inferred Blueshade had said something rash about her and Lostpaw just reacted. Blueshade didn't say anything and ducked her head, clearly embarrassed.

"Don't you remember that patrol when we all played together?" Lostpaw asked his mentor in the same loud voice. "When Whitefire taught us that great song?"

"They will fall, one by one, into the fire they call the -" Littlepaw started to sing the song from where she was walking with Deadrose. She was immediatly shushed by her mentor and Tigerlily.

Whitefire was filled with so much emotion at the little cats words, her throat closed up and her tear ducts swelled. _Oh, sweet cat, _Whitefire thought to herself as she looked at Lostpaw. _If only you knew what that song really means._

Lostpaw turned around to smile at her, but was cuffed over the head by Blueshade. "Stop pestering her," Blueshade growled. Lostpaw hung his head and didn't say another word.

"Maybe we can play and sing together tomorrow," Whitefire called out hesitantly, voice croaking and raspy. _That is, if Denver doesn't pay me a visit. _

Lostpaw looked up at his mentor excitedly, waiting for approval.

"No," was Blueshades simple answer. Lostpaws tail drooped, but he said nothing more.

Whitefire didn't have time to be sad about Lostpaw, for the gathering clearing had appeared. The cats filed in, and Whitefire settled down in the back row where she usually sat. She looked around at Plantclan, scanning the clearing for Jaypaw. _I hope he's here. I forgot tonight was the gathering yesterday when we made plans to meet. I hope he's not sitting on the border waiting for me. _

"_Whitefire, what did we just talk about not even five minutes ago?" _

Whitefire looked to her left to see Denver sitting beside her, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I just wanted to tell him we can't meet tonight," Whitefire lied. Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted Jaypaw sitting among the ranks of Plantclan. _Yes! He's here! All I need to do now is ditch Denver and all will be good. _

"_Have you forgotten I can read your thoughts?" _Denver snapped. _"Whitefire, you've pissed me off more than once tonight."_

"I'm sorry," Whitefire mumbled. _Shit. I forgot he could hear what I'm thinking._

"_You don't learn, do you," _Denver rolled his eyes.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Whitefire asked, changing the subject in hopes of leering him away from possibly punishing her.

"_I came to watch the gathering," _Denver replied. _"What does it look like I'm doing?"_

"Well... why?" Whitefire muttered. "And where's the others?"

"_I told them to go, so we could be alone," _Denver whispered.

"Uh, okay," Whitefire was starting to get a bad feeling of where this was going. "Do you do this with all the other cats you possess?"

Denver chuckled, lazily turning his head to look at her. _"No."_

"Well, why not?" Whitefire silently begged for the gathering to start soon, before forgetting Denver could hear it.

"_Well, Longwhisker is smelly and I don't personally like giving extra attention to toms," _Denver shrugged. Whitefire figured he either didn't hear her thoughts, or did but chose to ignore them.

"Are you mean to Longwhisker too?" Whitefire mumbled.

"_Define mean, Whitefire. I'm mean to an extent. I just shove you around a bit. The other day, three cats got shoved off a cliff from a cat who was possessed."_

"Oh my god," Whitefire gasped. "Who? From which clan?"

"_Frostclan," _Denver said. _"The cats who got pushed off were all sick. What the ghosts didn't prepare for was the female cat latching on to a ghost in disguise when she was shoved."_

"So they're... dead?" Whitefire whispered, feeling a cold shiver run up her spine. "Who was the ghost that went down with them?"

"_I actually don't know," _Denver said in a puzzled voice. _"Not one of mine."_

"I will start the gathering!"

Jaggedstars voice boomed through the night, silencing all the cats.

"We'll talk about this later," Whitefire whispered to Denver.

"_I want to talk about it now."_

"What left is there to talk about?" Whitefire hissed, getting very few up with Denver. "If you want to talk to me, possess me and make me talk yourself!" she looked forward, feeling proud of herself for being so forward. She waited for Denvers reply, but when the seconds ticked by in silence, Whitefire got confused. She slowly turned her head and peeked with the corner of her eye. Denver sat still, eyes set on the ground. Whitefire watched him, wondering what he'd do. He looked up at her and blinked, eyes sad. Whitefire was just wondering to herself if she had imagined it, but Jaggedstar loud call distracted her.

"Plantclan is thriving, with more prey than we catch and our stream running clear. We have a new warrior..." he went on. Whitefire turned to look back at Denver, and was confused for a second when grass and leaves met her view.

Denver was gone.


	8. Dandelion Eyes

Dead Rose

Chapter 8: Dandelion Eyes

Jaypaw tuned out his leader as he talked about Plantclan, deciding he really didn't care to hear him proudly announce his brothers becoming warriors. He scanned the Deadclan patrol, heart sinking as he didn't see Whitefire in the cluster. _Dammit, _he thought. _I hope she's not sitting on the border waiting for me... _a movement from a bush a bit farther away then caught his attention, and Jaypaw flicked his good eye over. _Yes! She's here! _He spotted Whitefire sitting behind the bush, secluded from the others.

_Now the question is, is that Whitefire or Denver? _

Jaypaw stared intently at her, hoping to catch a sign that she wasn't possessed by the horrid spirit of Denver. Whitefire _looked _okay, she was sitting in a comfortable position, her neck wasn't stretched out and her back wasn't hunched. The only thing that was slightly disconcerting was her mouth was moving, she seemed to be talking to someone beside her even though no one was there. _Maybe she's talking to Denver. I hope she's not. _

"What are you staring at so intently?" Sunflower whispered into Jaypaws ear. "Are you even listening to Jaggedstar?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," Jaypaw snapped back to reality, looking away from Whitefire. Sunflower looked over to where he was looking and narrowed her eyes.

"Why are you looking at Deadclan?" she asked slowly. Jaypaws mind reeled for an excuse.

"Oh, uh, I'm friends with Lostpaw," Jaypaw lied. "We were making faces at each other."

"Oh," Sunflower looked both relieved and annoyed. "Well, stop it. Now is a time for listening, you can see Lostpaw for a few minutes after the gathering is over."

"Okay," Jaypaw replied. By now, Jaggedstar had finished his speech about Plantclan, and Rainclans leader Tallstar had stepped up, preparing to go next.

"Rainclan is in good health, the prey is running good and the river is low. We even had a few days of sun this moon," Tallstar chuckled to himself, along with a few others in the clearing. "The kits were overjoyed to play in the stream with no rain."

Jaypaw examined Rainclan, the cats were all noticeably smaller. Even Tallstar was little, the other leaders towered over him. _But they all look very happy and content, _Jaypaw thought, looking on at the apprentices sitting together, murmuring to each other. The mentors sat behind them, one of them caught Jaypaws eye. A tom cat was looking on proudly as his leader made the Rainclan announcement, but that's not what caught his attention. The cat had only one hind leg. _I bet his warrior ceremony didn't get delayed, _Jaypaw thought to himself. _I bet if I was in Rainclan, they would have made me a warrior._

Sunflower cuffed him over the ear, hissing under her breath. "You're very distracted today," she whispered. "Please at least try to make an effort to pay attention."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Jaypaw muttered. He focused his mind back to Rainclan, and realized uncomfortably he had missed half of Tallstars speech.

"The waterfall at the end of our river may have caught a wild animal," Jaypaw heard Tallstar say out of context. "The rocks at the bottom are bloody, and the foam has turned red."

"Could it be a bear?" a cat called out.

"No, if it was a bear, there would have been a lot more blood," Tallstar explained. "What I'm afraid of is a cat fell in and went over the falls. I know you've all heard me say this a million times, but I'm going to say it again. Everyone, please be careful around the river. That's all for Rainclan."

"I'll go next for Deadclan," Redstar spoke up, cutting off Frostclans leader as he tried to offer to speak next. Jaypaw found himself tuning out again, eye moving back to where Whitefire was sitting. Now it didn't look like she was talking to anyone, she just sat still, picking apart leaves with her claws. Jaypaw wondered dimly where Denver went. _If he went somewhere, it couldn't be far, _Jaypaw thought to himself. _I don't really think he'd just talk to Whitefire without doing anything. _He scanned the clearing, then shook his head in disbelief. _Here I am, scanning the clearing for a ghost. I think I must be going mad. _Jaypaw shoved Denver out of his mind and forced himself to focus on the gathering. By now, Redstar was finished and Frostclans leader Sagestar was making his announcement.

"Frostclan has mourned a loss this moon," Sagestar said, voice guarded. "Mudclaw died yesterday."

Shocked mews erupted around the clearing. Jaypaw didn't join in, for he hadn't even shared so much as two words with the Frostclan warrior. He just knew who he was, Sunflower had taken him on a patrol once and they had ran into Mudclaw. Jaypaw personally got a bad vibe from him, so he kept his mouth shut and waited for Sagestar to continue.

"How did he die?" a cat called out. Sagestar stood rigid still, glaring at the crowd. Jaypaws eye flicked down to the deputy, Longwhisker. He was confused to see Longwhisker looked very cautious.

"He fell off the waterfall," Sagestar said at last. "He's probably the cat who Tallstar was talking about. No comments please," he hissed at the crowd. "We held a respectful burial for Mudclaw in our camp, even though there was no body. We are mourning. That's all for Frostclan."

"He fell off the waterfall?" Jaypaw heard Sunflower whisper to Sharpclaw. "I find that very hard to believe."

"Maybe he tripped and fell," Jaypaw suggested, turning around.

"Don't eavesdrop," was Sunflowers reply. _Yeesh, I don't know what her problem is today, _Jaypaw thought, turning his head back to the front. _She's been acting like a wounded badger all day. _His thoughts about his mentor disappeared as the gathering started to disassemble, cats started to wander to see friends from different clans.

"I'm gonna go see Lostpaw now," Jaypaw said abruptly, getting up quickly to avoid Sunflower starting up a long conversation. He heard Sunflower say something in return, but he didn't hear and didn't stop to ask her to repeat it. He tried to look nonchalant as he wandered over to Deadclan, making a point to go in the apprentices direction for Sunflowers sake. He spotted Whitefire slowly making her way up the hill to the trail back to her camp, and he ran a little farther to catch up.

"Hey, Jaypaw!"

Jaypaw silently swore and turned around, expecting to see Lostpaw. But it wasn't Lostpaw, the cat who had called him was the Deadclan deputy, Tigerlily.

"Oh, hi," Jaypaw said quickly.

"You don't usually come say hello to us," Tigerlily said kindly. "How are you doing?"

Jaypaw saw Whitefire stop and turn around. He forced himself not to be rude and meowed back, "I'm good."

"I've never see you up close before," Tigerlily said, leaning in towards him. "You're eye is cloudy."

"I know. I can't see through it," Jaypaw replied. "It's been that way since I was a kit."

"Do you want to come talk to the apprentices?" Tigerlily asked, gesturing to Lostpaw and Littlepaw who were huddled by themself. "I'm sure they would like a new friend."

Jaypaw stopped mentally swearing and looked at the two cats. They looked shy and uncomfortable, talking quietly to each other. _Wait. There is no time for this. _

"I'll maybe say hello in a few minutes," Jaypaw said quickly. "First off I want to talk to Whitefire."

"Why?" Tigerlily asked slowly.

"I saw her when I went on a walk," Jaypaw said, deciding to tell a half truth. "She was walking close to the border and she called out hello," he walked away before Tigerlily could respond.

"Whitefire!" Jaypaw called, picking up the pace. "Whitefire!"

"Oh, Jaypaw," Whitefire said, turning around. "It's you."

"Uh, yeah," Jaypaws excitement (which he didn't understand) faded as he looked at her dull eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Denvers here," Whitefire whispered, looking around with wide eyes. "I don't know where he went, though."

"So? That's good if he went away," Jaypaw said in disbelief. "Why do you look so sad about it?"

"He um, doesn't want me to talk to you," Whitefire said very quietly. "He said he would possess you if I did."

"Well you're talking to me right now, aren't you?" Jaypaw snapped, getting very fed up of Denvers threats. "He probably isn't even here anymore."

"I know," Whitefire muttered. "But I just have a terrible feeling he's gonna show up at any second."

"Don't let him scare you," Jaypaw said. "That's how he gets control."

"Well, he's had control for as long as I can remember," Whitefire said miserably. "Ever since I was made an apprentice."

"Jaypaw! We're leaving!"

Jaypaw sighed as he heard Sunflowers voice. "I have to go," he said reluctantly.

"I guess you do," Whitefire whispered, leaning forward to rest her cheek on his. "Goodbye."

Jaypaw got so flustered by the unexpected gesture he nearly fell over. "U–uh bye," then he broke away and ran back to his mentor.

He didn't notice the eyes of Denver narrow through the trees.

...

Jaypaw curled up by himself in the apprentices den, almost missing the warmth of his brothers. _I guess I'll just have to get used to the cold, _he thought to himself. _It's not like it's gonna change any time soon. _He sighed and closed his eyes, thoughts of Whitefire swimming around his mind like a fish. It took a long time for his mind to relax so he could sleep. But when Jaypaw finally fell unconscious, he did something he never does.

He dreamed.

_Jaypaw padded through the trees, confused on where he was. The sun wasn't blue, it was a light shade of pink. Lighter pink clouds lazily drifted across the sky. He looked down, confused why he could see so clearly. As if to answer his thoughts, a glittering puddle appeared on the purple grass. Jaypaw looked down, eyes widening in surprise. His eye was not cloudy, instead, it was a vibrant yellow color. The color of a dandelion. His other eye was still green, but as he looked closer, Jaypaw could see little diamonds shining in the color. _What the hell is going on, _he thought to himself, lifting his head from the puddle. The trees were huge, Jaypaw figured they must stretch up to the moon. The leaves on the trees were all blue, shining in the pink sunlight. There was no bark on the trees, instead, it looked as though it was made of water. Jaypaw cautiously touched one with his paw. It was solid. Jaypaw could see his reflection in the solid water, and he was shocked by the sight. He had a huge mane, like a lion, bright orange. His body was bigger, and when he opened his mouth, long teeth glinted. Jaypaw looked away from the water and back down at himself. His shrimpy apprentice body hadn't changed._

"_The trees are deceiving, aren't they?"_

_Jaypaw turned to see who had spoken, the little voice of the speaker sounded like a female kit. A pink furred cat stepped out from behind a tree, with striking purple eyes and glinting crystal blue claws. She was the strangest, most beautiful cat Jaypaw had ever seen. _

"_I was just looking at myself," the cat said, walking up to him. She peered into the same tree Jaypaw had looked into, and laughed. "Look," she said. Jaypaw looked over at her reflection, and gasped. She had the body of a tiger, purple stripes rippling through her pink pelt. She opened her mouth, baring crystal blue teeth the same color as her claws. _

"_You look... beautiful," was all Jaypaw could say. _

"_I know," the she cat giggled. "But then I look back down... and the tiger is gone."_

"_What... is this place?" Jaypaw asked. _I've had weird dreams before but this is getting a bit extreme.

"_It's Starclan," the she cat said. "Fun, isn't it? The colors are so bright!"_

"_Yeah," Jaypaw looked back into the tree, examining his lion mane again. "I wish life was really like this."_

"_It could be," the she cat shrugged. When Jaypaw looked at her in confusion, she giggled. "Don't look so scared, you silly goose!" she cried. "All I meant was you can have this forever, if you want to."_

"_Um, I don't know about that," Jaypaw said. _

"_I didn't even have to think about it," the cat sighed dreamily. "Here, you can do whatever you want."_

"_Prove it," Jaypaw said. _

"_Um, okay," the cat thought for a moment. "Think of a cat you would like to see."_

_Jaypaw closed his eyes and thought of his father. _

"_Open your eyes, Jaypaw."_

_Jaypaw opened his eyes, not registering the fact that the cat had just said his name when he hadn't told her it yet. He forgot about it at once when he saw his dad Scarface standing beside the she cat._

"_Dad!" Jaypaw cried. Scarfaces dark pelt was gone, replaced with a startling gold color. _

"_Hey, son," Scarface said happily. "I've missed you."_

_Even though it was only a dream, Jaypaws heart lifted and he raced to him. "Dad, have you been here before?" he asked. _

"_I come here all the time," Scarface replied. "I was hoping you'd find it one day."_

"_I'm so glad I did," Jaypaw said. "Now we can be together all the time!"_

"_Oh, but it doesn't work that way," Scarface sighed sadly. "I can only come here once a moon."_

"_Once a moon?!" Jaypaw crowed. "But... that's such a short time!" _

"_That's why I've been thinking about coming here permanently," Scarface said, smiling at the pink she cat. _

"_Why can't we just play together in the real world?"Jaypaw asked suddenly. "I don't care about all this fancy stuff. I just want to be with you."_

"_I have no time," Scarface shook his head sadly. "Plantclan is a full time job."_

"_So is being a father," Jaypaw said quietly. Scarface looked over at the pink cat, eyes holding an expression Jaypaw didn't understand. _

"_I think I'm ready," Scarface said to her. "I want to be here forever."_

"_I was hoping you'd say that today," the pink cat said in her little kit voice. _

"_How do we come here forever?" Jaypaw asked. "Dad, I want to be here with you forever."_

"_I know, son," his dad replied. "We will."_

"_There's just one tiny little thing you have to do," the pink she cat giggled. "It's no big deal. I did it in like five minutes."_

"_Well, let's do it," Jaypaw looked determinedly at Scarface. "Then we'll never be apart."_

"_Alright, Jaypaw," the pink cat said. "There's just a few questions you have to answer."_

_Jaypaw looked at his dad, who encouraged him with a smile and nod. Jaypaw turned back to the pink cat. "Okay," he said._

"_The first one is, are you ready to give up you're normal life in the real world for the world you've just entered?"_

_Jaypaw looked at his fathers golden face, and nodded. "I'm ready."_

"_Okay," the pink cat said. "Question two is, are you willing to sell your soul?"_

_Jaypaw stopped smiling. He looked at her, confused. "Why would I have to do that?" _

"_It's alright son," his father encouraged from behind him. "I'm right here."_

"_Uh, then yes," Jaypaw whispered. He was starting to get a weird gut feeling, anxiety was being to crawl through his bones._

"_You're doing good!" the pink cat giggled. "Alright, one more question. Will you agree to sell your soul to me, in exchange for giving you this beautiful world with your father?"_

_Something wasn't clicking in Jaypaws brain. He looked around, the colors swirled and seemed so inviting. The sun blazed, and a creek opened up, glittering blue. _

"_Jaypaw, why aren't you answering?" his dad asked in concern. "Is there something wrong?"_

"_I just..." Jaypaw started. "I don't understand why she needs me to promise my soul to her."_

"_If you don't want to, that's fine," Scarface said sadly. "The sun will be up soon anyway... and everyone will start waking up..." he started to fade. _

"_No! Dad!" Jaypaw called. Scarface stopped fading. _

"_I'll do it," Jaypaw said determinedly. "I want to be with you forever."_

"_So...?" the pink cat whispered._

"_You can have my soul," Jaypaw said. "Take it. I don't want it. I just want my dad."_

"_Very good, Jaypaw," the pink cat smiled. Jaypaw smiled back and turned back to his dad. To his surprise, he wasn't there. _

"_Dad?" Jaypaw said. _

_Then everything changed._

_The blue leaves on the trees started to fall at a rapid rate, leaving them bare and creepy looking. The sky turned black, and the grass started to grow, weeds and plants looming large over Jaypaw. Jaypaw was starting to panic, terror running through his veins. _

"_Dad?" he cried. "Dad, where are you!" _

"_He's not here."_

_Jaypaw turned back to the pink cat. She slowly walked towards him, eyes narrowing. _

"_W-where's my father?" Jaypaw asked, backing away. Lighting started to crack in the sky, thunder booming. _

"_Why would you say something like that, Jaypaw?" the pink cat asked in a monotone voice. Jaypaw noticed it was starting to sound robotic. _

"_What... what did you do?" Jaypaw whispered, looking around at the horrific scene. _

"_Nothing, Jaypaw. I did nothing."_

_Jaypaw looked up at her, eyes widening in fear. As the pink cat walked towards him, her blue crystal claws snapped off, replacing with long scraggly black ones. Her pink fur started to stretch and fall off, her body doubling its size. Her purple eyes sunk into her head, making black holes in her face that seemed to sink into her skull. _Wait, I don't think that's a female cat at all, _Jaypaw thought as he scrambled backwards. _In fact, I think that might be...

"_Surprise," Denver snarled, then lunged forward with his teeth bared. _


	9. I Like Berries, You Should Go Find Some

Dead Rose

Chapter 9: I Like Berries, You Should Go Find Some

Blackpaw blinked open his eyes, head throbbing to the point where he was starting to see stars. His body was sunk into sand, and Blackpaw got the feeling he'd never get out of the sucking slop. _I can't believe I'm alive, _he thought as he tried to raise a paw from the sand. _That's the last time I try to kill myself naturally. The way things are going I'm gonna have to fall from Starclan and die on impact. Then again, that probably won't work either. _After a few long minutes of struggling and heaving through the mud, Blackpaw finally managed to get to the grass. He flopped back down on it, panting and heaving. His lungs hurt terribly, and he didn't understand why he abruptly leaned over and threw up. _What the hell is wrong with me? _Blackpaw came to the conclusion he might have given himself a concussion. _I remember Violet got a concussion once when Longwhisker shoved her and she hit her head on a rock. I wonder if WAIT A MINUTE WHERE'S VIOLET ANYWAY? _Blackpaws head shot up, and he winced as pain blinded his vision. _And where's Rust? If he went over the falls, there won't be any hope. _Blackpaw knew that if the old cat had went over, he would have died. Rust was too frail and old to make it through that kind of trauma. Blackpaw looked back at the dreaded falls, and gulped as he saw the massive spikes looming up over the angry froth. One tall spike stood out; blood coated the tip. _Oh no, _Blackpaws legs went weak as he started to slog through the mud again. _I'll just get close enough to see if there's a body, if not then-_

"Hey there, I wouldn't venture too far into the slop if I were you."

Blackpaw turned his head to see who had spoken, and was surprised to see Rust sitting a bit farther away into the grass.

"I don't know why you'd play in there anyway," Rust shook his head in disbelief. "I had one hell of a time climbing out of it."

"Rust!" Blackpaw cried out in happiness, forcing himself back through the mud over to his friend. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself going over the falls?"

"What are you talking about?" Rust snapped. "I just came over through those trees over there. Did you bring any food?"

"Pardon?" Blackpaw wasn't sure he'd heard him right.

"Food," Rust repeated, stretching the word into two syllables. "Or do you mean to tell me you ventured all the way over here with no plans to eat?"

"What... what the hell are you talking about?" Blackpaw snapped. "Did you not just see me climb out of that river and through the sand?"

"I like berries," Rust said, completely ignoring Blackpaw. "You should go find some."

Blackpaw was suddenly under the impression that Rust had either gone mad or had lost his memory.

"How did you get out of the river?" Blackpaw asked, deciding to see if he could jostle some memory in the old cat. "All I remember is falling off the falls and waking up in the mud."

"What are you talking about?" Rust asked angrily. "I didn't fall down that waterfall, are you crazy? I'd be dead!"

"Well, you did," Blackpaw was getting very fed up. "Now stop blabbering nonsense."

"I came in through those trees," Rust jerked a frail arm to the trees behind him. "I don't really know why. Actually, I have no idea where I am," Rusts eyes widened as he realized he was confused.

"Your name is Rust, and you just fell over the falls," Blackpaw explained.

"No," Rust said. Blackpaw stared at him for a second. "No?" he repeated in confusion.

"My name is Lores," Rust said in a matter of fact voice. "Yes, yes I remember now. Have you seen Denver anywhere? And why do I feel so old and sick? I can barely breath without hacking up a lung."

"I'm gonna go find Violet," Blackpaw snapped. "I don't have time for this."

"Hold your horses, I'll come with you," Rust sighed dramatically and heaved himself to his paws.

"No, you can stay here," Blackpaw insisted. "Try to find some berries and regain some sense."

"No," Rust mumbled. "I'm coming where you like it or not."

"Jeez," Blackpaw hissed under his breath. "Fine. Get on with it."

Rust struggled to his paws, looking unfamiliar with his body. "Damn, I'm old," he said.

Blackpaw didn't have the will to respond to that one.

_A few minutes earlier/_

_Violet screamed as she was pushed off the cliff, claws sinking into the flesh of the guard. They tumbled and shrieked for what seemed like hours in the air, until their bodies hit the river below with a sickening splat. The guard crashed on top of her, cushioning his fall but at the same time forcing her skull to crack painfully against a rock. Violet threw up instantly, and when she opened her mind she could see sparks. Everything was spinning. She was dimly aware of her body being roughly jerked through the rapids, scoring long scratched along her flank from the rocks. Violet didn't have the energy to do anything, just let herself be jerked and beat. The guard she had so violently held onto before drifted away from her claws, the water separated them as quick as a blink._

_And then it all evened out, like a smooth lake in the form of a river. Violets belly rose, and she choked and gargled on the water. She glided for a little while, and by now Violet was starting to feel calm. She closed her eyes, desperate for peace and not caring what happened if more rapids came. _

_She didn't have time to scream as she was pushed underwater._

_Violet clawed and fought, clawing underwater at the blind enemy. When she finally got a chance to rise to the surface and take a breath, all her senses were heightened. As the attacker too rose to the surface, Violet realized with horror that it was the guard. He lunged again, but Violet was quicker despite her loss of energy. She dived under, and bobbed back up when she realized she didn't know how to fight any longer. She stared with a hideous anger at the guard, but it was quickly replaced with confusion. His face looked panic stricken, utterly terrified. Violet followed his gaze and gasped. _

_The water dropped off up ahead. _

_It, was a waterfall._

"_We can't go back," the guard hissed as Violet struggled to swim the other way. "We're too far."_

"_Shut up!" Violet spat. "How dare you speak to me after what you've done?"_

"_I had to," the guard replied. "Orders are orders."_

"_Orders?" Violet cried. "From who?!"_

_The guard had no time to respond. They fell off the waterfall at the same time, twisting and screaming. Violet braced herself for death, hoping for it to be quick. He body thudded against a rock, and she rolled down into the angry foam. Her life seeped from her body before she could see the way the guards body pierced the sharp rock, killing him instantly. She died before she could see his death. She died before she could see the way his spirit rose from his body and drifted away, in search for a new body to possess. _

_Farther off on the shore, the corpse of Rusts lifeless body seemed like an invitation. The spirit floated over to him, and opened his mouth extremely wide, almost double the size the mouth should normally open. There was a lost shriek that nobody would ever hear, and then with a quick movement the ghost disappeared. _

_In moments, Rusts lifeless eyes opened once again._


	10. Hosting Fire

Dead Rose

Chapter 10: Hosting Fire

Whitefire curled up to try and rid some of her cold. The warriors den was colder than usual today, so everyone had to huddle up and snuggle for warmth. Whitefire had tried to squeeze into the pile, but everyone's bodies had tensed up. Whitefire just gave up the struggle and curled up on her own. Whitefire knew she'd never sleep, even if it wasn't cold. A nagging thought was clouding her mind.

She hadn't seen Denver in days.

Normally this would please her, but now it shadowed a hideous concern; considering the fact that the last time they had spoken it was on annoyed terms. Whitefire was trying to shove her sinking feeling that Denver had done something regarding Jaypaw. _Just stop thinking about it, _Whitefire told herself, trying to calm her sinking anxiety. _Jaypaws probably fine. Hopefully Denvers just doing something else._

Whitefire shut her eyes and tried not to think. It lasted about twenty seconds before she swore and got to her paws. _To hell with it. If I'm gonna be ice cold and awake I might as well move around. _She picked her way through the cats and out into the open, gritting her teeth as she realized it was much colder without all the cats breathing in a small space. She made her way over to the exit, not looking to see if anyone saw her leave at this time of night. _No one cares anyway. _Whitefire pushed her way out of the camp and into the dark forest. The night was dark tonight, the moon just a thin claw in the sky. Whitefire padded through the forest, paws growing numb against the icy dirt floor. She was just about to turn back and take her chances in the warriors den again, but stopped when she felt a pair of eyes on her pelt. She turned around slowly, bracing herself for the worst. She jumped in surprise when she realized it was a ratty old tom cat.

"W-who are you?" Whitefire stammered, taking into account the way the tom looked. Moldy dried scabs covered his spine, and one back leg was jaunted out of place. Whitefire knew it had to be broken, but she didn't understand how the cat wasn't lying down calling for help. He smiled at her, yellow rotten teeth showing in the dim light. Some teeth were snapped off, broken from the rot. His eyelids were saggy, the under part of his eyes were black like his lips. And he smelled like death. Whitefire back up, knowing what was going on at once.

"Denver, where did you find that body?" she asked, voice quivering. She backed up even more. Whitefire was more scared of Denver when he was in a body, he wasn't quite as intimidating when he was just a spirit.

"I'm not Denver, you quivering idiot," the cat said, jaw flapping around in a sickening way when he talked. He bit his lolling tongue as he finished his sentence, and he spat the blood in annoyance. "I was just coming over here to ask you where he was."

"You're not… Denver," Whitefire finished the sentence in such relief she almost needed to lie down. She realized the second the spirit/host talked, his accent was heavy and he didn't have the arrogant tone Denver had. Whitefire knew who he was; recognizing him as one of Denver's followers named Lores that always followed him around.

"No, I'm not," Lores said, rolling his eyes. They almost rolled into the back of his skull and Whitefire struggled not to vomit.

"Why are you in that body?" Whitefire asked, swaying a bit as the deceased smell nearly knocked her over.

"I found it on the side of the river," Lores said simply. "Even though it's old and frail, I didn't see the point of letting it go to waste. It'll do until I find something more permanent."

"Your back leg is all mangled up," Whitefire pointed out.

"Yeah I know. Probably happened when the cat went over the falls," Lores said dimly. "He's getting more rotten and dead by the hour though, so I don't think I'm gonna be able to get much more out of him. That's the problem with hosting corpses."

"Why don't you just let him rest in peace?" Whitefire snapped, getting very angry at the disrespect Lores was showing for the dead cat. "I mean for crying out loud I'm sure his death wish wasn't to have you parading his dead body all over the forest."

"Give it a rest, you freaking psycho," Lores snapped. "You shouldn't even be using that kind of sass with me anyway. You're lucky it was me you talked back to, Denver wouldn't have it, no sir, he wouldn't."

Whitefire rolled her eyes and didn't reply. Lores stood there awkwardly for a minute, as if he didn't really know what to do next. Whitefire watched him try to sit down for a solid five minutes, before crunching down on his bad leg. It was a sickening sound, bones cracking and shattering in the dead body. Lores sighed and got up. His leg now hung limp and forever useless.

"Wait, where did you say you found that body?" Whitefire asked suddenly, finally registering in her mind what Lores has said earlier. "You said he fell down the falls?"

"Yeah, four of them did," Lores said simply. "One of them so happened to be the body I was hosting prior to this dead one."

"Denver was telling me about this," Whitefire whispered, trying to piece it all together.

"I had the best host ever," Lores said, completely ignoring Whitefire. "Young, male, healthy. Then that stupid Violet cat had to grab me and splatter my body all over the rocks."

"What happened to the others?" Whitefire asked.

"Well, this one obviously died," Lores rolled his eyes and pointed to himself. "And the Violet she-cat."

"Everyone died?" Whitefire cried in disbelief. "And Denver told me you _shoved _them all off into the river in the first place?"

"Hey, don't get mad at me," Lores hissed. "Orders are orders."

"Who's orders?!" Whitefire cried, getting very confused. "Denver didn't tell you to do it!"

There was a long silence, Whitefire stared at Lores with anger and confusion.

"I thought it was Denver, who told me and the others to push them," Lores said so quietly Whitefire had to lean forward to hear. "He was in a host body, and he was acting just like him," he continued. "He told me he was Denver so what was I supposed to do? Ask him to leave his host to prove it?"

"So if it wasn't Denver, who was it?" Whitefire asked.

"I don't know," Lores replied.

"So… all the cats? They all died?" Whitefire asked.

"Well…" Lores voice trailed off for a moment. "All except one. Little black cat, made it out of the falls with nothing but a headache. Lucky thing. I spoke to him; apparently the body I'm hosting was a good friend of his."

"Oh," was all Whitefire could say. "So… what were your plans with this body? Why are you in my clan?"

"I was gonna dump it when I found a new one," Lore shrugged. "I was hoping someone would be straying around. Like you, for instance."

"Ha," Whitefire forced a laugh, backing up slightly once again. "You're not gonna take my body, are you? No, you're not gonna do that."

"Why not?" Lores took a step towards her. "In the time we've been talking I've felt myself decompose even more. Not taking your body would be just silly when it's presented to me like this."

"Don't," Whitefire warned him. "Denver would be angry at you."

"Oh, no one's ever _dared _try to host Denvers little girlfriends body before," Lores smiled and narrowed his eyes, opening his mouth to what Whitefire recognized as the start of the hosting process. "But I can since he's way on the other side of the forest. Leaving you free to be my host."

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Whitefire screamed, stumbled backwards, trying to get a grip on her paws. She clawed desperately in her attempts to escape, but Lores had already started. His neck stretched a sickening length, and his mouth opened to nearly cover half his face. He started to scream, and Whitefire could feel a hideous force clamp around her body.

"NO! DON'T!" Whitefire screamed as the invisible spirit started to seep into her skin. She realized there was no way out, so she went limp. But as quick as it had come, the pushing stopped. Whitefire blinked open an eye to see what was going on. What she saw startled her greatly. Denver had appeared, and was shredding Lores host body from throat to tail. Lores choked and gargled his own blood, but at last he fell limp, forever dead and useless as a host. Lores spirit drifted above, and he spat at Denver.

"What was that for?" Lores hissed. "I was just about to use her as my new host body."

"She's my host body, you blithering _idiot," _Denver hissed so violently froth began to form at the corners of his mouth. Whitefire had never seen him so angry in her whole life.

"Yeah, well, I saw her stumbling around the forest and it seemed like an invitation," Lores growled. "Maybe you should start keeping a better eye on her."

"I plan to," Denver opened his mouth and stretched out his neck. Lores gave a satisfying nod and vanished. Whitefire shut her eyes and admitted defeat. She waited tensely for Denver to possess her. But after a few seconds ticked by, Whitefire was confused. She opened her eyes into slits, shocked to see Denvers neck back to normal and his mouth shut. He was hunched over, looking at her with a look she had never seen in his eyes before.

"Why aren't you… aren't you going to host me?" Whitefire asked quietly. Denver sighed and slowly walked towards her. For some reason, Whitefire didn't feel the need to back up. Denver sat beside her, his spirit just slightly colder than her fur. There was plenty of room, but he pressed up against her anyway.

"You're tired," he murmured. "You should go to sleep."

Whitefire opened her mouth in disbelief.

"Go on," Denver patted the dirt floor. "Lie down."

Whitefire gently rested her body on the ground, and curled up with her tail over her nose. Denver laid down beside her and rested his front paw on her back. He gently stroked her fur, and Whitefire could feel his breath on her ear. Whitefire knew she should feel terrified, like she always did, that he would do something awful. But tonight she wasn't scared, she shut her eyes.

And even though Denver was colder than the night air, she was asleep in seconds.


	11. Orange Mint

Dead Rose

Chapter 11: Orange Mint

Sunflower couldn't figure out for the life of her what was going on with Jaypaw. She stared at him across the clearing, eating his fresh kill. His little body was all hunched over a blackbird he was devouring, His limbs rigid and awkwardly straight. Sunflower had never seen anyone eat like that before, and she watched him further. Jaypaw didn't take small bites like he usually would; today he was tearing off the skin first and eating it whole. It hung grossly out of the side of his mouth, but he smacked and slopped his jaws and tongue until it was swallowed. _It's like his manners have gone straight out the window, _Sunflower thought to herself. _I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat that grossly before. _

"Excuse me, Sunflower, a word?"

A sneering, snarling voice sounded from behind her, and Sunflower didn't even need to turn around to know it was Hareclaw.

"What's this about?" Sunflower asked reluctantly, shifting her paws in impatience.

"Your apprentice is completely out of control," Hareclaw snapped. "On top of eating obnoxiously, he insulted me in front of an entire patrol."

"What did he say?" Sunflower asked mildly, taking into account that Jaypaw had finished eating. Now he was making his way over to the medicine cats den. Sunflower felt her stomach drop. _What's he up to now?_

"So he was wandering around me and my patrol, so I called him over," Hareclaw continued. "I asked him if he noticed a difference because of the battle wound in my ear."

Sunflower had to force herself not to groan. Ever since Hareclaw had gotten into a fight the other day with a Rainclan patrol, he had been boasting about the tiny little nick in his ear ever since.

"And then, do you know what he said?" Hareclaw demanded. "Do you want to know what that little brat said to me?"

"What did he say?" Sunflower went along.

"He said, 'I dunno, you got more fat?'" Hareclaw shouted the last words. "The whole patrol was in hysterics. I've never been more disrespected in my whole life."

Sunflower personally thought it was funny too but she didn't let it show. She swallowed a rising giggle and forced a serious face. "I'm sorry he said that," she said. "I'll have a word with him."

"See that you do," Hareclaw said, holding his nose high in the air. "Or else I'll take matters into my own paws."

"Okay," Sunflower took this as a dismissal so she hurriedly walked away before Hareclaw could say anything else. She had been itching to go see what Jaypaw was doing in the medicine cats den. She walked over, saying a brief hi to Sharpclaw on her way over. She pushed her head into the den and looked around. She let out a squeak of surprise when she realized Jaypaw was making some sort of leaf wrap with the few precious berries and herbs the clan had left.

"What are you doing?" Sunflower hurried over to him and yanked him by the scruff away from his mixture.

"Hey!" Jaypaw snapped. "Back off, you freaking psycho."

"What are you _doing?" _Sunflower said slowly, staring at what Jaypaw had done. He had wasted the entire supply of catnip and juniper berries, mashing the berries and stems into a mixture. Jaypaw shoved her away and rolled up the mixture, glaring at her with icy eyes.

"What's gotten into you?" Sunflower whispered. "You weren't raised like this."

"I needed a leaf wrap, all right?" Jaypaw hissed. "So I made one. Simple as that."

"You used all of the medicine cat's supplies!" Sunflower said, voice getting louder. "What could you possibly need that leaf wrap for anyway? You just wasted it all!"

Jaypaw leaned down and sniffed the sweet smelling wrap. "I just needed it," he hissed at last. "Go away."

"Why are you being like this?" Sunflower wailed after him. "Why are you being so awful?"

Jaypaw ignored her and stalked away with his stolen wrap. Sunflower realized there was nothing she could do so she quickly got out of the medicine cats den, wondering without much hope if Jaypaws stolen wrap would go unnoticed.

_Meanwhile_

Jaypaw walked through the forest, proud of what he had done. _Idiot cats are so stupid I barely had to try, _he thought. _I could do anything and they'd still believe I was a scatterbrained apprentice. _Jaypaw stopped walking when he approached the Deadclan border. He set his wrap on the ground and opened it up. Using a paw, he rubbed the minty juices all over his pelt, completely shielding his Plantclan scent. He used about half of it, so he rolled it back up and patted it close. He picked it up in his jaws once again and walked over the Deadclan border.

_Maybe I'll give the rest of this to the leader, for good measures, _Jaypaw thought to himself. _I was going to give it to Whitefire but it would probably look better if I give it to Redstar. _

_Hopefully they don't recognize me as Jaypaw._

Jaypaw could smell many cats up ahead, and he knew he was getting close to their camp. _Wait a minute, they're all going to recognize me… they've all seen me and my stupid cloudy eye!_

Jaypaw swore quietly, and decided he would have to be a little more creative. After all, he wasn't just Jaypaw.

_I'm Denver, _Jaypaw thought, smiling evilly. _And I can do whatever I want._

He pushed his way into the camp, and unsurprisingly he was noticed at once. A few cats ran up to him, fear and confusion clear in their eyes.

"Jaypaw!" a she cat spoke, voice high pitched and tinny. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, is there a problem in Plantclan?" a large gray tom that Jaypaw recognized as Deadrose said warily. "And what's that thing you're holding? I could smell it clear across the camp."

Jaypaw dropped his minty leaf wrap and smiled the best he could. "Sorry to barge in like this," he whispered. "But I brought this wrap for your leader, as a gift. I would like to be a part of Deadclan."

Silence met his words, and Jaypaw knew he had startled them. Deadrose looked at the female cat, who returned a blank stare.

"Why did you leave your clan, Jaypaw?" the she cat asked at last.

"They're never going to make me a warrior," Jaypaw said with fake sadness. "So I decided I wanted to live my life like I deserve, with kindness and respect. I would never find that here."

"So sad!"

An unexpected voice alarmed the Deadclan cats, and they jumped in surprise. Jaypaw had to hold back his evil smile as he realized it was Redstar himself.

"Forbidden to be a warrior is a crime I will always sympathize," Redstar said to Jaypaw. "I feel for you, young warrior."

"Redstar, we can't accept him," Deadrose whispered to the leader. "His clan probably doesn't even know he's here."

"A leaf wrap!" Redstar completely ignored the concerned deputy and lunged forward. "For me?"

"Yes," Jaypaw pushed the minty wrap towards him. Redstar opened it up and cried out in delight. "Mint and berry mix!" he howled. "My absolute favorite!"

"So I can stay?" Jaypaw asked, pretending to look scared. "I promise I'll be good."

"Absolutely," Redstar said as he started to rub a bit of the mixture on his face. "Jaypaw, that was a good idea. Rub the mixture on your face to forever feel the tingly mint- brilliant!"

Jaypaw smiled for real this time, deciding he liked the Deadclan leader.

"Redstar, are you sure?" Deadrose asked desperately. "Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Silence!" Redstar snapped. "The cat has brought us the power of mint! He is obviously sent from Starclan."

"That's ridiculous," Deadrose snapped.

"Um, Redstar?" Jaypaw asked. Redstar looked at him at once, and Jaypaw liked the power he had just because of his silly wrap. _I knew it was a good idea. _

"I don't like the name Jaypaw," Jaypaw said slowly. "Makes me feel like I'm not good enough, so I was wondering if-"

"You can have a new name," Redstar interrupted. "Of course you can. Everyone, from here on in, Jaypaw will be known as Cottenfluff."

"Um," Jaypaw said. "I was thinking Denver."

"Denver Cottenfluff," Redstar nodded solemnly. "Best name in the world," and with that he snatched up his leaf wrap in his jaws and started making his way to his den.

"Don't you think we should give that mint to the medicine cat?" Deadrose called after him. "It doesn't grow on our territory and rubbing it all over your face won't help anyone."

Redstar pretended he didn't hear him and broke out into a sprint until he was in his den.

"So, _Denver," _the she cat said slowly. Her face looked funny, as if saying the name Denver caused a sour taste in her mouth.

"Yes?" Denver smiled, enjoying himself. _This worked a lot better than I thought, _he thought to himself. _I like it already._

"You remember me, right? Tigerlily, from the gathering?"

"Yeah sure," Denver said. Tigerlily stared at him, not quite sure what to say. "Well," she said at last. "I guess you can sleep in the warriors den. The apprentices den is much too crowded already, and well, you have the body of a warrior."

"Really? Thanks babe, but I already have a mate," Denver laughed. Tigerlily and Deadroses mouth both dropped open. Denver just chuckled and walked away. He walked around the camp, completely ignoring everyone even though he knew he should be introducing himself to the confused cats who were staring at him. Then a cream color caught his eye, and Denver looked up. His heart started to beat faster as he saw Whitefire sitting by herself in the corner of the camp. He walked straight towards her, ignoring the calls from Tigerlily to come back. _Whatever. Redstars on my side so I pretty much got a free pass to do whatever I want._

"Hey," Denver said quietly. Whitefire jumped and turned around, utterly alarmed by the sight of Jaypaw and his clouded eyed face.

"Jaypaw!" Whitefire cried. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not Jaypaw anymore," Denver said. "I'm Denver."

Whitefires face contorted from shock to confusion to horror at the same time. "Denver?" she whispered. "Why are you… why are you in Jaypaws body?"

"I decided to make it my permanent host," Denver replied. "So now you can relax. I won't be hosting you anymore."

"But… why are you in my clan?" Whitefire asked in disbelief. "Does Redstar even know you're here?"

"Yeah, I dealt with him already," Denver shrugged. "I gave him a minty leaf wrap and he let me stay in the clan."

"Wait-" Whitefires eyes widened. "You're a part of _Deadclan _now? _Permanently?" _

"You sound so disgusted I almost feel insulted," Denver rolled his eyes.

"But what about Jaypaw?" Whitefire whispered. "He's just a spirit now?"

"Don't worry, he didn't like it in Plantclan anyway," Denver said in annoyance. "In a way I let him go be whoever he wants."

Whitefire stared into Jaypaws… well, Denvers cloudy eye and didn't know what to say. "Why would you even want to be here though?" Whitefire said softly. "Just to find more cats to host for your other ghosts?"

"Nah," Denver said. "I don't care about any of that crap anymore."

"Then what?" Whitefire asked, struggling not to yell. "What's your purpose here?"

"I came here so we could be together," Denver said gently. "Now that I have a host I plan on keeping, and one you find attractive, we can be together."

Whitefire looked down, embarrassed. "But, it just doesn't feel right," she said.

"The world isn't right," Denver said. "Was turning you from Stormclan to Deadclan right? No. Was being born with a clouded eye right? Nope. Was Frostclans prisoner system for their sick cats right? No, no and no!"

"So… you don't have any bad intentions?" Whitefire asked at last. "None at all?"

"No," Denver said. "I promise."

"How do I know if I believe you?" Whitefire challenged.

"Because I just want to be with you," Denver said in a tired voice. "I'm sick of possessing everyone. What good does that do me in the end anyway?"

"Yeah, I guess," Whitefire murmured. Then she thought of something. "Wait… how did you know about Stormclan?"

Denver smiled slightly, looking away.

"What?" Whitefire demanded.

"I know about Stormclan," Denver started. "Because I used to be a part of it."

"You used to…" Whitefires voice trailed off. "What?"

"Do you think I was born a spirit?" Denver snapped. "No. I was born in Stormclan before it moved. My name was Dawnfur and I was a warrior."

Whitefire had no idea what to say. Denver had never told her this before, and it was shocking to hear.

"How did you become… like a spirit then?" Whitefire asked.

"How do you think?" Denver said quietly. "I got tricked into letting my body be able to be a host. I hated it. I wanted to die. But spirits don't die… I was angry."

"So you started to do it yourself," Whitefire said, piecing it together before he was even done speaking.

"I was just so angry," Denver continued, narrowing his eyes. "The spirit who took my real body trashed it. There was nothing left when he was done with me."

"That's awful," Whitefire said softly. "What did you look like?"

"I was orange, believe it or not," Denver smiled slightly. "With really short fur."

Whitefire pictured Denver as a shorted furred orange tabby and looked down. "I bet you looked quite handsome," she mumbled.

"I was," Denver agreed. "I was."

"So… what happened? You're body got taken, so you started learning to host others?"

"It was all I could do," Denver said grimly. "And Dawnfur became Denver and before you knew it I became the biggest hypocrite the forest has ever seen."

"So why did you change?" Whitefire asked. "You were evil for so long… why did you stop?"

"Because of you," Denver muttered. "I never really knew the pain I was causing you. Until the other day, when I saw Lores trying to possess you. When I saw your face," Denvers voice trailed off. "You were so scared. I never noticed that when I used to do it myself."

"Oh," Whitefire was at a loss of words. Her heart was beating in her chest so loud she figured he must hear it. "So, what now?" she asked at last.

"I'm going to tell you something," Denver said suddenly. "And it's something I've been wanting to say for a very long time."

"Okay," Whitefire whispered. _He's going to say he loves me, _Whitefire thought. _Oh my god… I'm so nervous… do I even want him to say it? Do I even love him? Oh who am I kidding, yes I do. Denver, just say it, I'm ready._

Whitefire braced herself, trying to calm her nerves and anxiety, staring into Denvers eyes.

"I'm sorry," Denver said.

It wasn't what Whitefire was expecting, but it was the most powerful apology she had ever heard. She leaned forward and pressed her cheek against his. She recoiled at once, his face was sticky.

"Why did you rub mint on your face?" she asked. Denvers eyes widened and he touched his face with a paw. "Damn it, I forgot," he snapped. "So I literally just poured my heart out to you with my face covered in minty berry juices?"

"Yes," Whitefire giggled. Denver smiled and rubbed his face over Whitefires.

She shrieked as the catmint smothered her nose.


	12. Mending the Mold

Dead Rose

Chapter 12: Mending the Mold

Blackpaw swore as he stumbled over a root. _One would think I was blind if they saw me making my way through the forest, _he thought to himself. _It's almost as if I've forgotten how to walk. _Blackpaw thrashed loudly through the tree until his bruised legs became unbearable, and he flopped down onto his side. His already horrid lungs were getting worse, every time he breathed bits of mucus and blood would rise up into his throat. His paws were terribly sore, as his claws were beginning to grow back in after being torn out. The sickness was getting worse, and Blackpaw knew that every day that passed was another tick on his clock to death. He was starting to wish time would just hurry up and kill him. _There's not even a purpose in living anymore. I'm just a creaking, sagging bag of old bones. _Blackpaw chuckled in pure revolt. _This is complete rubbish. I have the body of a dying elder and I'm not even a year old. _

"Hey there."

Blackpaw looked up, dimly hoping to see Violet or Rust. He scowled visibly. The cat was a black and white house pet with a bright pink collar.

"You look like you're pretty mangled up," the cat pointed out the obvious with a sickeningly happy tone. "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

"Whats it look like I'm fucking doing?" Blackpaw spat and got to his paws, wincing as his stiff bones creaked. "I'm getting out of this goddamn forest." Blackpaw didn't care if he was being rude, however, that cat didn't seem to notice.

"I've been watching you crash around for a little while," she said. "I tried to let you find your way out on your own, but I can't handle it anymore."

"So wait," Blackpaw turned to her. "You've been watching me struggle and decided not to help?"

"Uh, yeah," she said, awkwardness tinging her tinny voice. "I wanted to let you try for yourself."

"You're an idiot," Blackpaw spat. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get out of here." He stalked forward, accidently stubbing his very sore paw on a rock. He swore loudly and flopped back down.

"What's your name?" Blackpaw asked without turning around, knowing the cat would still be watching in amusement.

"Valeriy," the cat said back at once.

"Valeriy, kill me," Blackpaw whispered. "Please."

"What?" Valeriy's voice was shocked. "Kill you? Why would I do that?"

"I'm dying anyway," Blackpaw moaned. "Look at me. Just _look _at me!"

Valeriy glanced over Blackpaws swollen and matted body.

"You just need a good wash," she mumbled. Blackpaw sighed angrily and rolled his eyes. He got back to his paws and stumbled over to her. He leaned in really closely to her, and breathed heavily with his mouth open. Valeriy recoiled at once, wrinkling her nose.

"Bad breath," she choked.

"It's from my body slowly rotting from the inside," Blackpaw hissed. "And this," he leaned in again and breathed. It sounded as if bits of chunks were being rattled around. He turned and spat them on the forest floor. "That's the noise of blood clots rising from my lungs," He growled. Valeriy stared at him, her previous expression changing to a look of sadness.

"My owners would be able to fix you up in no time," she whispered at last. "You'd be good as new when they were done."

"It would be no use," Blackpaw said, shaking his head slowly. "It would be like trying to mend a rotting corpse."

"No, seriously," Valeriy was starting to sound excited. "My friend Jake got beat up by a dog once. His owners took him to the vet and now he's as in the best condition he's ever been in."

"Huh," realization dawned over Blackpaw as he realized this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. "They could really fix me up?"

"Uh huh," Valeriy nodded her head up and down. "You'll come out looking moons and moons younger. No offence, but you look really beat up and old."

"Ha," was all Blackpaw could muster.

"How old are you anyway?" Valeriy asked curiously. "A few good moons left and then you'll be an elder, that's my guess."

"I'm," Blackpaw stopped to sneeze. He wiped the snot on the ground. "Eleven moons old."

Valeriys jaw dropped. "Wow," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"It's all good," Blackpaw shrugged, his anger and frustration ebbing away for some reason. "If you think I look old, you should see my friend Rust. The cat's just brittle bones and rotten teeth."

"Well, come on," Valeriy said, bouncing to her paws. "Let's go back to my owners."

"Let me clean myself up a bit first," Blackpaw leaned down and ran his rotten tongue over a matted lump of filthy fur. He sneezed again and then looked up. "Alright, I'm ready."

Valeriy giggled.

...

By the time Blackpaw had managed to get out of the forest, he had told Valeriy quite a bit of his pitiful life story. She walked beside him, nodding her head and making the appropriate murmurs.

"So I need to find Rust and Violet," Blackpaw finished. "Well, I saw Rust for a little while but then he wandered off again. For some reason I couldn't track him down. I haven't seen Violet since she was pushed over the falls."

"Given your description of Rust," Valeriy said slowly, not making eye contact. "You may have to consider the idea that he might be... dead."

"Dead? No," Blackpaw scoffed, knowing that was probably a high possibility but not wanting to believe it. _Rust and Violet are the only friends I have, _Blackpaw thought miserably. _I must keep believing they're still alive._

"Once I'm all fixed up, we can go find Rust and Violet," Blackpaw said to Valeriy. "Then we can be healthy again and go back to Frostclan and kill them all."

Valeriy didn't respond to that, and Blackpaw wasn't surprised.

"Well, we're here," Valeriy said at last, looking downright relieved that she didn't have to talk to him anymore. "Let's go inside."

"Okay," Blackpaw said. His throat was sore from all that talking, and he was looking forward to the vets. Whatever they were.

Valeriy pushed her way through a plastic flap low on the door, and Blackpaw followed her cautiously. He jumped as his paws hit a soft flooring, but he didn't know what it was.

"What is this stuff?" Blackpaw cried, scratching the soft floor.

"It's carpet," Valeriy explained. "And don't tear it up."

"Weird," Blackpaw mumbled. He was just about to say something else, but stopped when he heard some giant steps making his way towards him.

"What is that?" Blackpaw asked. His question was soon answered as the biggest creature he'd ever seen stepped into the room. Blackpaw shrieked, he had never seen a human before. The human gave a startled squeak as well, jumping slightly when she saw the unexpected cat in her house.

"Have you never seen a human before?" Valeriy meowed in disbelief.

"No," Blackpaw hissed. He recoiled back as the human leaned down to touch him.

"What happened to you?" The human said.

"What's it saying?" Blackpaw whispered, cringing as the human patted him on the head.

"I don't know," Valeriy replied. They all stared at each other for several heartbeats before Blackpaw spoke again.

"Take me to the vet, please," he said. The human gave a chuckle.

"Well, it looks like you need fixing up," he said as he picked up Blackpaw. Blackpaws stomach heaved as he rose high in the air. He felt involuntary bits of vomit and mold rise in his throat. Valeriy watched in annoyance as he spewed them all over the carpet. The human was disgusted, holding Blackpaw as far away from his body as he could. He walked out the door, and the swaying Blackpaw felt in his body turned to dizziness. He blacked out as the human placed him in the car.

...

Blackpaw awoke with a jolt. His underside was cold, and when he leaned down he could identify the problem. He surface beneath him was a shining silver, and smooth like stone. Blackpaw looked around, getting frightened. Tools were spread out around him, and humans were bustling around with masks over their naked faces. One of them saw he had awoke, and alerted the others. A female human leaned over and picked him up. Blackpaw was expecting the soft feel of hands like Valeriys owner, and yelped when the plastic gloves pulled his fur.

"So, the vets like a medicine cat, right?" Blackpaw meowed. "Aren't you just going to give me a few herbs and I'll be good as new?"

Sadly, it was nothing of the sort. Blackpaw realized with dread that he didn't even know what a medicine cat did. No one ever taught him, just as no one had about the vet. His body was dunked in a pail of lukewarm water, stinky bubbles and foam floating on the surface.

"I don't want to go in there," Blackpaw demanded, his claws digging into the human. "Stop it."

The human took no notice and proceeded to scrub him with her gloved hands.

"STOP! NOW!" Blackpaw screamed as his eyes started to sting. He squeezed them shut, howling as a second pair of hands started grabbing him and scrubbing. This went on for a long time, and Blackpaw was just starting to contemplate drowning himself when they lifted him out and placed him back on the icy silver surface.

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" Blackpaw snapped. "Well it didn't!"

No one listened. He screeched again as the gloved hands held him down, while another rammed a long tube down his throat. Blackpaw started to choke. He couldn't breathe, and the tube was provoking more vomit. It piled out around the tube, and the humans wiped it up at once. Blackpaw felt liquids running down into his body, and he thrashed. Another pair of hands restrained him. He was starting to feel tired. Blackpaws eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and he stopped fighting. He was just starting to nod off when he felt the tickle of a knife slice open his chest.

He was fast asleep as another tube was placed into his lungs.

A/n. First chapter I completed since I graduated, and holy crap am I ever rusty. Hopefully I get back to my usual better quality of writing soon. Sorry for the long wait for this update !


	13. Silent Ghost

Dead Rose

Chapter 13: Silent Ghost

_All around me are familiar faces,_

_Worn out places, worn out faces_

_Bright and early with the daily races _

_Going nowhere, going nowhere_

"Well, I don't know what to do," Sunflower said, voice high and shrill due to her frustration. "Jaypaws vanished. I don't know where he could possibly be."

"Probably stumbled into a tree and took a nap," Hareclaw sneered, barging into Sunflowers conversation with Sharpclaw. Sunflower rolled her eyes and hissed, biting back a sarcastic retort about how much Hareclaws comment didn't make sense.

"I don't think he ran into a tree, Hareclaw," Sharpclaw put in mildly. Sunflower shot him a grateful look for jumping in. "He's not blind."

"He has a cloudy eye," Hareclaw snapped. "That's pretty much blind to me."

"I just don't know where he'd be," Sunflower whispered, deciding to ignore the arrogant tom. "The last time I saw him he was acting so strange."

"He's always had a spunky attitude," Sharpclaw said gently, pressing his cheek against Sunflowers. "Don't worry. He'll show up."

_"Don't worry, he'll show up," _Hareclaw mocked Sharpclaw with a false high pitched voice. "God damn. You're all getting worked up over nothing."

"Is there a reason you came over here?" Sunflower snapped. "Other than to make fun of us?"

"Gathering," Hareclaw jerked his head over to where a group of cats were clustered around a tree stump. "Get on it."

"One would think that would be the first thing he tells us when he comes over," Sunflower whispered in annoyance to Sharpclaw. "Now they're all going to be irritated because we're holding up the group."

"I'm concerned on why Hareclaws helping Jaggedstar with the gathering patrol," Sharpclaw whispered back. "That should be Scarfaces job."

All Sunflower could do was shrug, as they had reached the patrol of cats.

"Took you long enough," Leopardfur hissed under her breath. Sunflower bristled her fur awkwardly, embarrassed that the other cats had heard her.

"Let's not waste any more time," Jaggedstar said in a tired voice, looking up at the sky. "The moon is brighter than ever, and if we waste any more time in camp we'll wind up being late."

"Yes, single file line," Hareclaw barked, jumping up into a rigid stance. Jaggedstar sighed softly and looked on at the cats wearily. "Follow Hareclaw out," he said at last. "I'm going to trail a bit behind to have a word with Sharpclaw."

Sharpclaw looked confused, and he gave a glance at Sunflower before padding over to his leader.

"Tell me about it later," Sunflower mouthed the words. Sharpclaw gave a nod in return. Sunflower looked on at the group of cats, wondering where the clan deputy was. She hadn't seen Scarface since Jaypaw had gone missing, and she had a sinking feeling the events were linked. It was no secret that Scarface favoured Jaypaws brothers, but maybe Jaypaw being missing was awakening some sort of feeling in the hard-hearted deputy. Sunflower padded up beside Moonflower, a bright white she cat who Sunflower got along with well.

"What's going on with Scarface?" Sunflower whispered as they marched out of the camp. "Where is he?"

"This morning he went out looking for Jaypaw," Moonflower whispered back, eyes lighting up at the chance to gossip. "No one has seen him since."

"Huh," Sunflower narrowed her eyes. "So he was gone all day?"

"Uh huh," Moonflower nodded her head one too many times. "Why, are you worried?"

"Of course I'm worried," Sunflower said. "First Jaypaw, then his father. It just seems odd."

"It'll be okay," Moonflower replied. "Jaypaw's gotta show up sooner or later."

Sunflower mumbled an inaudible response, not wanting to discus the matter any farther. She was just starting to feel at ease again when Moonflower spoke.

"Did you hear about Deadclans new warrior?"

"Hm?" Sunflower turned to stare at her. "Did an apprentice become a warrior?"

"No," Moonflower whispered in a hushed voice. "I heard he walked right into the Deadclan camp, and they made him a warrior."

"No way," Sunflower had never heard something so absurd in her entire life. "Was it a rogue or loner?"

Moonflower shrugged. "No idea. His name is Denver."

"Weird," Sunflower mumbled. "What does he look like?"

"No idea," Moonflower said. "No one's ever seen him. I was just on a patrol yesterday when we ran into a patrol of Deadclans. Jaggedstar asked one of them how they were doing, and Jaggedstar said they were happy to announce the arrival of a new warrior," Moonflower paused to roll her eyes. "Typical. They just want to sound tough with their new warrior so they're bragging about it to anyone who listens."

"Well, maybe we'll see him tonight," Sunflower said, feeling excited to see this mysterious Denver. "We're here." They pushed their way into the already packed clearing. Sunflower breathed a sigh of relief as she realized Rainclan was pushing their way in too. _We're not late, thank Starclan. _

Sunflower looked over at the Deadclan crowd, scanning for Denver, whoever he was. They were crowded tightly though, and Sunflower couldn't make out any unfamiliar faces.

"I will start the gathering," Jaggedstars voice boomed loud over the cats, and he stalked right up to the tree stump, pushing Tallstar out of his way as he walked.

"Wait for the rest of us," Sagestar snapped, angrily making his way to the top of the stump too.

"Where's Redstar?" Tallstar asked in his quiet voice, fur still bristled up from when Jaggedstar had pushed him.

"I'M HERE!" Redstars voice shattered ears, Sunflower winced and thought to herself how someone could create such a noise. She turned her head to Deadclan to see the scatterbrained leader walking through the crowd of cats in the most ridiculous getup she had ever seen. Redstar had made a crown out of dead daisies, and it was loosely tied around his head. He had a cape like thing made out of leaves over his body, dragging on the dirty ground behind him. He had smeared red berries all over his face and paws. The clearing erupted into laughter, but Redstar held his head high and pranced to the stump.

It was then when she saw him.

A few feet behind the leader, a smaller cat walked with the same ridiculous cape and crown. She couldn't get a good look at his face, mainly because his crown of daisies fell over his right eye.

"CATS AND KITTENS, ROGUES AND KITTYPETS!" Redstar screeched, voice so shrill Sunflower could hardly believe it was coming from a tom cat.

"So I take it you're starting the gathering?" Jaggedstar said sarcastically, looking up and down at Redstars theatrical display.

"Redstar, you look completely ludicrous," Tallstar spat. "Why are you wearing that comical outfit? And where is Deadrose?"

"DEADROSE IS IN THE AUDIENCE," Redstar shouted.

"Can you stop screaming?" a cat called from the crowd. "We can hear you loud and clear!"

"Kings don't cower," Redstar shouted back, but a little bit quieter. Sunflower turned to see if Deadclan knew that this was going to happen, and felt an icky pang when she realized they all wore masks of content.

_What the heck is going on?_

"What is the purpose of this?" Sagestar hissed. "And who's this?" he jabbed a paw at the cat who was accompanying Redstar.

"This is my newest and greatest warrior," Redstar said slowly, Sunflower figured it was for emphasis but wasn't certain. "DENVER COTTONFLUFF! You may applaud now."

The only cats who gave any sort of applause was from Deadclan, unsurprisingly. Sunflower looked closer at Denver, wondering why she felt like he was familiar. Finally he raised his head, his eye that showed shined bright.

"This is a disgrace to the gathering," Sagestar whispered angrily. "Redstar, make your announcement so we can move along."

"Okay," Redstar said. "I have received a gift from Starclan and he's sitting beside me."

"That's it," Jaggedstar snapped. "Redstar, get down off the stump."

"No," Redstar said stubbornly. "I have every right to stand here."

"Yes, but your _friend_ doesn't," Jaggedstar hissed. He turned to Denver. "Denver, please get off the stump."

Sunflower wonderd briefly if Denver would simply refuse like Redstar. She also wondered for a moment if he wouldn't talk at all.

But then he spoke.

And his voice chilled Sunflower to the bone.

"I'm sorry," he said. "We have not meant to do no harm," he turned to Jaggedstar. "I will go wait in the audience."

"Denver, no," Redstar whined. He hung his head. "I thought you were going to stay with me..."

"Thank you," Jaggedstar dipped his head to Denver. "I am happy you don't follow everything this loon does."

"No worries," Denver dipped his head in return.

And then Sunflower saw it.

As Denver dipped his head, his crown slipped forward, revealing his other eye. Sunflower stood rigid, staring at the cloudy eye that she had looked at ever since he was born.

"Oh my god," Sunflower whispered.

"What?" Moonflower mumbled.

"That's... that's Jaypaw," Sunflower whispered, eyes stretched wide. Her blood was turning colder by the second. _What's he doing up there?_

"Um, that's Denver," Moonflower whispered back in confusion.

"No, that's Jaypaw in disguise," Sunflower said louder.

"No, he's not," Moonflower narrowed her eyes. "Have you gone mad?"

Sunflower ignored her, and slowly rose to her paws. Cats turned to stare at her, and the leaders stopped talking to look.

"Is there something you'd like to say, Sunflower?" Jaggedstar asked slowly, looking annoyed. Sunflower still couldn't believe what she was seeing. Denver stood staring, he had flipped his daisy crown back over his eye. He looked calm, but the way he stood rigid made Sunflower aware he knew she knew.

"That, That's..." Sunflower started, but her voice broke and she stopped.

"Yes?" Jaggedstar said sarcastically. "Is there a reason you've interrupted the entire gathering?"

Sunflower opened her mouth to speak again, but before she said her first word, a ghost like mist rose in the background. Sunflower almost

missed it, but when she squinted her eyes and looked closer, she realized it looked like a cat.

A cat shaped, cloudy eyed ghost.

It was the spirit of Jaypaw.

He slowly raised a paw and held it to his mouth, indicating for her to keep quiet. Sunflower stared at him with wide terror struck eyes, and turned back to her waiting audience.

"Sunflower!" Jaggedstar howled. "I've had enough of this! Speak now, or sit down!"

Sunflower took another look at the ghost, paw still over his mouth.

She sat down.


	14. Tiger, Tiger

Dead Rose

Chapter 14: Tiger, Tiger

The Deadclan patrol walked grimly through the trees, heads bowed and voices silent. No one knew what to say after the disastrous gathering, and Deadrose didn't blame them. Redstars hideous display of insanity had disturbed everyone, and Deadrose couldn't imagine what the other clans thought of them now. He led the patrol down the trail, while Redstar slunk in the back of the line with Denver. Deadrose looked forward again and turned to Flowertail.

"I don't know what to do," Deadrose whispered. "And I don't know what to say… that was just… terrible."

"Tell me about it," Flowertail replied scathingly, turning his head to stare at his leader. Redstars leaf cape was dragging in the dirt, matting it with mud and leaves. His dead daisy crown was starting to go brown.

"I'm also concerned on why Denvers so encouraging about it all," Flowertail continued. "I don't get why he had to dress up like Redstar too."

"Redstar probably asked him to, god knows why," Deadrose rolled his eyes. "I'm starting to think Redstar should move into the elders den."

"He'd never go for that," Flowertail scoffed. "The cats a loon, but he's a proud loon."

"Well, I'm starting to think he might not have a choice," Deadrose mumbled. "His actions have started to affect the clan."

…

Whitefire sat very still, chewing her fresh kill with as slow bites as possible. Beside her, Denver was talking to Redstar.

"We are blood brothers," Redstar was saying, nodding his head slowly with his eyes wide. "Soul mates. You were sent from Starclan to be my soul mate."

"Yes," Denver dipped his head, playing along. "Blood brothers till death."

By now, the capes the toms were wearing had rotted off their backs, the crowns too. But Redstar was still covered in berry juice, and he was starting to stink. Denver had washed the juice off himself, but he had made himself a new crown out of thin stems with a leaf tied to the front. It shielded his clouded eye perfectly. Whitefire shivered, she knew what the purpose of the crown. It was a disguise so no one would notice he was actually Jaypaw, with the spirit of Denver.

Whitefire shivered again.

"Are you cold?" Denver turned to look at Whitefire, visible eye narrowed.

"Yeah," Whitefire whispered. "Why?"

"You've been sitting over there shaking since you sat down," Denver said, rolling his eyes. Whitefire realized with annoyance Redstar rolled his eyes as soon as Denver did.

"I want to speak with you, alone," Whitefire said to Denver. He had been glued to Redstar ever since the gathering, and Whitefire was getting frustrated.

"In a bit," Denver replied. "I'm going to spend some more time with Redstar first."

Redstar beamed a smile so huge it looked strained. "Stay with me all night," he begged Denver. By this time Whitefire had had enough. She stood up, glaring at the cat who was supposed to be her friend. "I'm going for a walk in the forest," she announced. "See you later."

"Bye," Denver called after her. Whitefire wasn't surprised that Redstar didn't respond. She pushed her way out of the camp entrance, the cool night air was crisp like frosted leaves. Her paws crinkled on them as she walked, making Whitefire think of snow.

_My life is so screwed up, _she thought miserably. _My closest friend here is the spirit who once tormented me, made me terrified to live. And he's in the body of my real friend, Jaypaw. _

_Why did you do this to me, Starclan? What did I do to deserve this?_

Whitefire crumpled to the ground and wept, hot tears streaming down her cold face. She didn't move until she saw him.

"Don't cry," the spirit whispered, touching Whitefires tear stained cheek with a ghostly paw. "It's going to be okay."

"J-Jaypaw?" Whitefire whispered, staring at the familiar spirit. "What… why are you here?"

"To see you, of course," Jaypaws voice was strange, bouncing off the trees in an eerie way. "Why else?"

"Why now?" Whirefire whispered. "I haven't seen you since you left…"

"I didn't leave," Jaypaw hissed. "My body was stolen by your lover."

"Denver isn't my lover," Whitefire growled back defensively. "And I never asked for this to happen to you."

"Do you know what it's like?" Jaypaw spat. "To be a spirit floating in the air? To have your body violently taken from you?"

Whitefire couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her happiness to see her friend melted, and she stood up and wiped her tears away with a paw.

"Yes I do know," she hissed in the spirits face. "Denver took my body all the fucking time. He'd rip my soul out several times a day sometimes," she narrowed her eyes in slits. "So don't stand there and tell me I don't know what it's like, to be _hosted. _I know better than anyone else. I had to float in the in between world staring at my body being controlled by _him."_

"Yeah. And now I float around in the _in between world _and watch him manipulate you into loving him," Jaypaw said dryly. "You're a fool, Whitefire. I don't know how you could be so stupid."

"I'm not stupid," Whitefire whispered, the insult striking her like a blow to the head. "You're supposed to be my friend."

"And you're supposed to be mine," Jaypaw said, looking at Whitefire with scorn. "But you let that… that _demon_ live in me. And you don't even care. You don't try to help me."

"I'm sorry," Whitefire started, but Jaypaw cut her off.

"It's a little late for apologies, don't you think?" he said, and then vanished. Whitefire screamed silently and kicked the forest floor.

_Meanwhile_

"This is taking too long," the ghost growled angrily. "I thought this would be quick."

"To be fair, the task is a lot more technical than we predicted," the second ghost said with less authority than the first. "The instructions are complicated and-"

"The instructions are very simple," the first ghost hissed. "We take the bodies. We host them. What part of this is confusing?"

"I managed to host Longwhisker in Frostclan," the third ghost piped in. "But it is difficult. I leave his body for two seconds and his real spirit jumps in."

"Yeah, the spirits of the bodies watch us like hawks," the second ghost chimed in. "For the one second we leave the body."

"Not to mention, it's tricky getting them to sell their soul," the fourth ghost said for the first time, strolling up to the group. "It usually takes several weeks to figure out how to lure them in for good."

"Without them waking up," the third ghost added.

"Where's Lores?" the first ghost snapped, ignoring everyone's statements. "And Denver? They're never this late."

"Denvers probably in Deadclan with his female friend," the second ghost scoffed. "And Lores is probably still scatterbrained from when he fell over the cliff and lost his host body."

"Lores lost his host?" the first ghost cried in disbelief. "How?"

"He fell over a waterfall," the third ghost mumbled.

"Unbelievable," the first ghost shook his head in disgust. "Simply unbelievable. He spends all that time finding a permanent host body then he just throws it off the cliff."

"In his defense, I think he was dragged over-" the fourth ghost put in feebly.

"I don't care," the first ghost cut him off. "Lores and Denver used to be my best host hunters. Now they don't even care."

"I'm here, Tiger."

The spirits jumped slightly as an unknown voice spoke the first's ghost's name. Tiger turned to see who had addressed him.

It was the spirit of Denver, moving in a slow and tired fashion.

"Where's this host body you've been bragging about?" Tiger demanded at once.

"It's hiding in the forest," Denver shot back.

"What if the original spirit finds it?" Tiger hissed.

"He won't," Denver spoke through gritted teeth. "The original spirit doesn't know how."

"So why are you so late?" the second ghost asked in a sneering voice, obviously glad to have Tiger's anger directed to someone else.

"I'm going to make this short," Denver ignored the second ghost and stared Tiger straight in the eye. "I'm done. I want no more part in this."

The ghosts gasped, and stared at Tiger in shock.

"So you stayed with us just to find a host of your own," Tiger spoke slowly, words seeping through his lips like a snake. "But had no intentions of helping us the way we helped you."

"I used to," Denver started. "But I've changed. I don't _like _this anymore. I don't want to host anymore."

"I see," Tiger growled. "Very well, Dawnfur. Goodbye."

"My name," Denver hissed quietly. "Is Denver."

"It didn't used to be," Tiger smiled evilly. "You used to be a clan cat too, with a warrior name."

"That's not who I am anymore," Denver said coldly.

"Ah, but it was," Tiger said. "And your body was taken and later destroyed."

Denver looked down, anger boiling at the arrogant tom.

"Get out of here," Tiger whispered. "And don't come back. You're no better than the cats you used to torment."

…

Whitefire was jostled awake as a cat pushed its way through the den. She blinked her eyes sleepily, and was surprised to see Denver making his way towards her.

"I'm still mad at you," Whitefire whispered. She laid her head back on her paws and shut them.

"I'm really sorry," Denver said back, touching her back gently with his paw. Whitefire tensed but didn't push him away.

"I got you a gift," Denver said softly.

"I'm still mad."

"But it's a good gift," Denver insisted, nudging forward a smooth gray rock. Whitefire opened her eyes, curious. It was dark in the den, but she could see the stone. It was a smooth gray and blue color, and when Whitefire touched it she had never felt a rock so soft.

"There isn't a crack on it," Denver said proudly. "Found it in the stream."

"I love it," Whitefire whispered, clutching it closer. It was cool against her fur. Denver shook off his stem and leaf crown and set it in the corner.

"Put the rock with my stem crown so you don't lose it," Denver instructed. "It took a lot of work getting it out of the stream and I don't want you losing it."

"Okay," Whitefire set the stone on the ground beside her. When Denver turned away she grabbed it and stuffed it out of sight under her front leg. When Denver was settled next to her, she spoke again.

"I'm not mad anymore," she said softly. "I was just annoyed you forgot to talk with me."

"I know, I'm sorry," Denver said, lowering his eyes. "I just had to… deal with something."

"What?" Whitefire asked. She was starting to get tired again.

"I met up with the other… spirits," Denver spoke the last word very quietly. "I told them I don't want to be part of their plan anymore."

"Oh," Whitefire was surprised. "That's good."

"Yeah," Denver agreed. "I'm glad I'm out of it."

"Why are you so friendly with Redstar?" Whitefire asked after giving a big yawn. Denver snorted.

"He's funny," Denver smiled. "I like him; he's fun to be around."

"They're really mad at you about the gathering display," Whitefire said. "And by they I mean the entire forest."

"I don't care," Denver said. "Redstar and I have fun together."

They were silent for a long time, and Whitefire was just starting to nod off when she thought of something.

"Denver?" she whispered, voice crackling.

"Yeah?"

"You said the spirits had a plan?" she whispered. Denver took a moment to answer.

"Yeah," he said at last. "They do."

"The forest is in danger, isn't it?" Whitefires bones filled with dread. "Cat's are going to die, aren't they?"

"The forest is in danger," Denver repeated, very slowly. "More danger than you can imagine."

"Can we stop it?" Whitefire asked, wishing to herself that she didn't even ask the question.

"I don't know," Denver sighed. "I really don't have a clue."

"I'm scared," Whitefire said.

"I know," Denver moved closer to her. "I am too."

_Please r&r :D_


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